From buckslocalnews.com
Pennsbury says 'no' to Morrisville kids
Pennsbury School District rejected taking Morrisville high school students.
By Petra Chesner Schlatter Posted on Wed, Feb 4, 2009
Morrisville School District is searching for another school district to take its high school students on a tuition basis.When asked to comment on the issue, Elizabeth Yonson, superintendent of Morrisville School District, deferred the question to Morrisville Borough Council Solicitor Mike Fitzpatrick and School Board President Bill Hellman. Neither could be reached for comment.
Pennsbury CEO Paul Long said "the Pennsbury solicitor, Michael Kristofco, has recently communicated with the Morrisville solicitor on this topic.
"Also, the Pennsbury School Board and administration are aware of the difficulties that the Borough of Morrisville School District face," Long said. "However, as far as I know there are not any official initiatives or proposals to consider at this time."
Greg Lucidi, president of the Pennsbury School Board, responded via e-mail on Jan. 27 about Morrisville's invitation for Pennsbury to accept the borough's 9th-to 12th-graders.
"Morrisville is in an extremely difficult situation and I really wish we could help, but Pennsbury is not in the position to absorb 300 additional students at our high school," Lucidi responded.
The Pennsbury High School campus has room for 3,414 students and is approaching that limit with roughly 3,400 students currently enrolled.
"I really do not believe this idea is feasible at Pennsbury," he continued. "We have our own set of problems and issues and we are working very hard to solve them. We simply cannot add to our list of challenges right now."
The question is whether Pennsbury facilities can handle the additional students. Space constraints are a concern, according to the school board president.
"Prior to the addition and renovations at Pennsbury High School West, we were experiencing space problems," Lucidi explained. "We added to the school and our student population now fits comfortably in the space available.
"Adding 300 students to the school would in my opinion cause us to be right back where we were before the additional space was added," he wrote.
When asked whether the issue should go to voter referendum, Lucidi said, "Unfortunately, we cannot use voter referendum to make our decisions for us. We were elected by the public to make and enforce school policy.
"We do take public comments into consideration when making decisions, but ultimately it's based upon what we believe to be in the best interests of both our students and our taxpayers," he maintained.
"If our state representatives want to get involved in this issue, they should work directly with Morrisville to help them solve their problems instead of shifting the burden to neighboring districts," he wrote.
The cost to educate a secondary-level student in Pennsbury School District is $12,011. In Morrisville, it is $14,215.
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farming. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
I'll Use a Lifeline, Regis
From the BCCT.
Bang the drum. Again. And again. Why the tuitioning thing one more time?
The notion of the federal funding as a basis for the merger is foolish. This is an economic stimulus package, a one shot deal, not a promise of sustained funding. That's like buying a house on the basis of one year's tax refund. We tried that already. Look where it got us.
Let's say that the BCCT needs a lifeline. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which encircles the tiny Courier Times circulation area, has offered to accept the newsroom staff and the Courier Times will even pay the salary of this staff. Governor Rendell and the state legislature are smiling on the deal and offer some incentives as well. Everyone's having a warm fuzzy moment...What a neighborly thing to do!
Well? Why aren't you packing? Because it's not a good deal. Where's the gain for either newspaper?
It's not the greatest analogy. Then again, tuitioning out the students is not that great an idea either. What happens in a year, two, or three, when Pennsbury says there's no more room and Morrisville has no more room either? What happens when Pennsbury doubles the tuition cost at the end of the contract? That's the marketplace laws of supply and demand at work. A school system is pressured enough these days. It doesn't need the added pressure of uncertainty.
Merger? Let's talk. Tuitioning? NO.
Lifeline to a neighbor
Needing a helping hand
Could $4.2 million in stimulus funds working their way through Congress enable Morrisville high school students to attend Pennsbury?
If the U.S. House of Representatives prevails in Congress, the Pennsbury School District would receive an extra $3.5 million in stimulus grants over the next two years. The economically deprived Morrisville School District would receive $708,800.
The amount going to Morrisville schools would be like a Band-Aid, since the district needs millions and millions of dollars to renovate substandard schools at a time when its tax base has eroded. In near desperation, the school board is looking for options.
The board has appealed to Pennsbury, which encircles tiny Morrisville, to accept about 400 high school students on a paid tuition basis. That way, the more up-to-date borough high school could be turned into a consolidated K-8.
The remaining two schools would be closed and, hopefully, sold. But Pennsbury says it has no room for the high school students.
Given the promise of new federal funding, coupled with the borough’s willingness to pay tuition for its students to attend Pennsbury High School, we hope Pennsbury officials consider ways to help Morrisville. It’s the neighborly thing to do.
Bang the drum. Again. And again. Why the tuitioning thing one more time?
The notion of the federal funding as a basis for the merger is foolish. This is an economic stimulus package, a one shot deal, not a promise of sustained funding. That's like buying a house on the basis of one year's tax refund. We tried that already. Look where it got us.
Let's say that the BCCT needs a lifeline. The Philadelphia Inquirer, which encircles the tiny Courier Times circulation area, has offered to accept the newsroom staff and the Courier Times will even pay the salary of this staff. Governor Rendell and the state legislature are smiling on the deal and offer some incentives as well. Everyone's having a warm fuzzy moment...What a neighborly thing to do!
Well? Why aren't you packing? Because it's not a good deal. Where's the gain for either newspaper?
It's not the greatest analogy. Then again, tuitioning out the students is not that great an idea either. What happens in a year, two, or three, when Pennsbury says there's no more room and Morrisville has no more room either? What happens when Pennsbury doubles the tuition cost at the end of the contract? That's the marketplace laws of supply and demand at work. A school system is pressured enough these days. It doesn't need the added pressure of uncertainty.
Merger? Let's talk. Tuitioning? NO.
Lifeline to a neighbor
Needing a helping hand
Could $4.2 million in stimulus funds working their way through Congress enable Morrisville high school students to attend Pennsbury?
If the U.S. House of Representatives prevails in Congress, the Pennsbury School District would receive an extra $3.5 million in stimulus grants over the next two years. The economically deprived Morrisville School District would receive $708,800.
The amount going to Morrisville schools would be like a Band-Aid, since the district needs millions and millions of dollars to renovate substandard schools at a time when its tax base has eroded. In near desperation, the school board is looking for options.
The board has appealed to Pennsbury, which encircles tiny Morrisville, to accept about 400 high school students on a paid tuition basis. That way, the more up-to-date borough high school could be turned into a consolidated K-8.
The remaining two schools would be closed and, hopefully, sold. But Pennsbury says it has no room for the high school students.
Given the promise of new federal funding, coupled with the borough’s willingness to pay tuition for its students to attend Pennsbury High School, we hope Pennsbury officials consider ways to help Morrisville. It’s the neighborly thing to do.
Friday, January 23, 2009
A Dubious "Thumbs Up"
From the BCCT.
Now it's the BCCT who is using only the dollars and cents criteria to look at the Morrisville schools situation. After profiling the Emperor's self-serving fiscal statement and taking him to task for it, they now copy his example.
There's two big differences here: The first is simple transparency. Here we find that Solicitor Fitzpatrick has been conducting these secret negotiations for six months, yet nothing has been discussed in public at any board meetings. We have our former congressman conducting secret meetings for the secret meeting board.
That's a disappointing stain on the congressman's reputation that's going to be hard to dismiss, even if he is only performing duties at the request of the client.
[NOTE: It looks like a vote was held in June to authorize the solicitor to proceed with these inquiries, so our initial information was inaccurate. We may not like the secret meetings, but they were authorized, so the solicitor was acting properly. The above paragraph is inaccurate and we regret the error.]
The BCCT takes the Neshaminy school board to task for its secrecy, yet sanctions it in Morrisville. "Citizens ought to get periodic updates on negotiations that include more than no comment, and a series of hearings should be held before the board takes a vote. That would be the thoughtful thing to do for taxpayers, which is who board members represent." Why the inconsistency in the editorials? Why isn't that same line of reasoning being used for Morrisville?
It also shows that the entire series of community action plan meetings was a complete farce and a waste of time and money. Out front, the participants were yessed to death and a grand show was made of "community participation", while in the back room, Solicitor Fitzpatrick and the Emperor were already ignoring anything yet to come out of there and busily moving along on the Emperor's grand six point plan that STILL HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC!
The second difference is that even I'd be willing to look at Pennsbury and Morrisville "merging", which is completely different from "tuitioning out".
In merging, Morrisville gets seated on the board, (probably only one board member) and has somewhat of a say in policy and direction. In tuitioning out, we are at the mercy of their board to do what's right. As readers have pointed out, the tuitioning option removes any semblance of control from the parents and the Morrisville board. Pennsbury is free to set tuition as they want. They can even let the contract lapse following expiration. What do we do with the students then?
The problem is not that we might need to move the students. The parents are not fools. We know the schools themselves are in need of repair. We also pay the tax bills and know the burden there as well. The problem is that just about everything in this district is presented to the public as a surprise box of chocolates from Forrest Gump. We never know what we're going to get.
One final thing about the line "A few million dollars from Morrisville to take its high school kids..."? Why do you dismiss our children like that with such a disrespectful line of reasoning? Despite what is happening here, they are NOT cattle to be sent here and there. They are our children and our future. If you're a Morrisville parent and want to complain about this disrespect, here's a link to do that.
Thumbs Up
To a better education for students at Morrisville High School, where a dire financial situation has put the damper on opportunities available to kids in wealthier districts.
Unfortunately, more opportunities and better conditions for Morrisville High School students likely means attending another high school. To that end, the Morrisville school board has contacted other districts in hopes of striking a deal.
This is a very tough situation for students and their parents. Kids naturally have allegiance to their school and parents want their children close to home. But this school board was elected to nix a plan to build a new K-12 school and it wasted no time getting the deed done. The board also does not intend to renovate the district’s two elementary schools. In fact, one was shut down because of a boiler explosion.
Instead, members appear to favor renovating the high school as a K-8 school and paying another district to educate borough high school students. It might be the best alternative.
And the best choice among the alternatives is neighboring Pennsbury. Morrisville is surrounded by the Pennsbury School District, which could use an infusion of revenue.
Pennsbury is facing a budget shortfall of $12.6 million and a $457 tax hike for the average homeowner. A few million dollars from Morrisville to take its high school kids would help plug Pennsbury’s budgetary hole and reduce the gargantuan tax hike the board’s considering.
Pennsbury officials — and taxpayers — should seriously think about it. It also would be the neighborly thing to do.
Now it's the BCCT who is using only the dollars and cents criteria to look at the Morrisville schools situation. After profiling the Emperor's self-serving fiscal statement and taking him to task for it, they now copy his example.
There's two big differences here: The first is simple transparency. Here we find that Solicitor Fitzpatrick has been conducting these secret negotiations for six months, yet nothing has been discussed in public at any board meetings. We have our former congressman conducting secret meetings for the secret meeting board.
That's a disappointing stain on the congressman's reputation that's going to be hard to dismiss, even if he is only performing duties at the request of the client.
[NOTE: It looks like a vote was held in June to authorize the solicitor to proceed with these inquiries, so our initial information was inaccurate. We may not like the secret meetings, but they were authorized, so the solicitor was acting properly. The above paragraph is inaccurate and we regret the error.]
The BCCT takes the Neshaminy school board to task for its secrecy, yet sanctions it in Morrisville. "Citizens ought to get periodic updates on negotiations that include more than no comment, and a series of hearings should be held before the board takes a vote. That would be the thoughtful thing to do for taxpayers, which is who board members represent." Why the inconsistency in the editorials? Why isn't that same line of reasoning being used for Morrisville?
It also shows that the entire series of community action plan meetings was a complete farce and a waste of time and money. Out front, the participants were yessed to death and a grand show was made of "community participation", while in the back room, Solicitor Fitzpatrick and the Emperor were already ignoring anything yet to come out of there and busily moving along on the Emperor's grand six point plan that STILL HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC!
The second difference is that even I'd be willing to look at Pennsbury and Morrisville "merging", which is completely different from "tuitioning out".
In merging, Morrisville gets seated on the board, (probably only one board member) and has somewhat of a say in policy and direction. In tuitioning out, we are at the mercy of their board to do what's right. As readers have pointed out, the tuitioning option removes any semblance of control from the parents and the Morrisville board. Pennsbury is free to set tuition as they want. They can even let the contract lapse following expiration. What do we do with the students then?
The problem is not that we might need to move the students. The parents are not fools. We know the schools themselves are in need of repair. We also pay the tax bills and know the burden there as well. The problem is that just about everything in this district is presented to the public as a surprise box of chocolates from Forrest Gump. We never know what we're going to get.
One final thing about the line "A few million dollars from Morrisville to take its high school kids..."? Why do you dismiss our children like that with such a disrespectful line of reasoning? Despite what is happening here, they are NOT cattle to be sent here and there. They are our children and our future. If you're a Morrisville parent and want to complain about this disrespect, here's a link to do that.
Thumbs Up
To a better education for students at Morrisville High School, where a dire financial situation has put the damper on opportunities available to kids in wealthier districts.
Unfortunately, more opportunities and better conditions for Morrisville High School students likely means attending another high school. To that end, the Morrisville school board has contacted other districts in hopes of striking a deal.
This is a very tough situation for students and their parents. Kids naturally have allegiance to their school and parents want their children close to home. But this school board was elected to nix a plan to build a new K-12 school and it wasted no time getting the deed done. The board also does not intend to renovate the district’s two elementary schools. In fact, one was shut down because of a boiler explosion.
Instead, members appear to favor renovating the high school as a K-8 school and paying another district to educate borough high school students. It might be the best alternative.
And the best choice among the alternatives is neighboring Pennsbury. Morrisville is surrounded by the Pennsbury School District, which could use an infusion of revenue.
Pennsbury is facing a budget shortfall of $12.6 million and a $457 tax hike for the average homeowner. A few million dollars from Morrisville to take its high school kids would help plug Pennsbury’s budgetary hole and reduce the gargantuan tax hike the board’s considering.
Pennsbury officials — and taxpayers — should seriously think about it. It also would be the neighborly thing to do.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Farm Program LIVES!
From the BCCT.
Like a bad horror movie where the slasher just keeps on coming back no matter what, we find this morning that the farm program is back.
"Districts south of Route 1" is an interesting phrase that sounds delicately parsed to hide something. Disregarding the fact that Route 1 runs north-south and so there's nothing "south" of Route 1, it sounds like code for Bristol or Philly area districts.
Channelling the (God help me!) Emperor for a moment, what WILL it take for anyone to get this?
You're seeking to dismantle one of the cornerstones that makes a town a home and a place to stay and raise a family. Why would anyone buy a home in Morrisville other than as a starter home? The new family can get in, build some equity, use the elementary schools, and then sell to another young starter family while they move "uptown" to one of the big McDevelopments where there's an actual high school.
I find it distressing that some of the people who have benefited most from a safe and solid Morrisville borough, long term residents who raised their families here next door to the same families for years and years, are some of the prime drivers in derailing the train. The small-town Morrisville is a treasure that should be passed on to the next generation, and generations after that.
This threatens to help turn the borough into nothing more than a trailer park without the wheels. Homeowners: If you thought your home equity was threatened by the recession, you ain't seen nothing yet.
This will all be decided in May when the primary is held. The Emperor has recruited a slate of candidates who will perpetuate this vision of Morrisville. If you do not like this, NOW is the time to come out to the board meetings and see what is happening. If you are able, RUN for the board and defeat these foolish plans.
Officials ask neighboring districts to take students
Morrisville would send its high school students to other districts on a paid tuition basis.
By MANASEE WAGH
Morrisville School District is once again reaching out to other local districts for help.
District solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick recently confirmed that he is contacting neighboring Pennsbury and other school districts south of Route 1 to find out if they would take Morrisville’s high school students on a paid tuition basis.
“This is a strong option that would be considered by the board along with whatever other options are available,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday.
At an average cost of $15,000 per student and a large retiree population, Morrisville has been running into a range of troubles, including coming up short on funds to renovate its school buildings.
Fitzpatrick said that in the current recession, the best option may be to educate grades pre-K through eight in the current high school building, and educate the roughly 300 students in grades nine through 12 elsewhere.
Presumably, the district would sell its two elementary schools. It has scheduled a public hearing later this month to consider closing M.R. Reiter Elementary School, whose heater exploded in mid-December, causing students to be relocated to other district sites for the rest of the school year.
Fitzpatrick said that at least one Morrisville parent has told him that the idea of sending children to other districts on a tuition basis is appealing, given the current problems in Morrisville.
A parent of two children at Reiter, Jermaine Jenkins said he was opposed to the idea of sending any students away to other districts because the relationships that teachers foster with their students need to be maintained.
“I already transitioned my family to Morrisville,” he said. “This small-town atmosphere is beneficial. If you have residents with children, the comfort is in knowing they are in the same district you live in.”
Jenkins added that he plans to run for school board as soon as possible.
In the past, Morrisville has asked Pennsbury to take some of its students, but the larger district has always refused. Recently, Pennsbury school board President Gregory Lucidi said his district’s schools are already at capacity and cannot handle more students.
Fitzpatrick said he has been communicating with Pennsbury for the past six months, but he still has to hear an answer to his latest request.
“Three years ago, any of the neighboring school districts would have easily said no. But given reduced fund balances, and with declining revenues and decreased assessments, the time might be right for them to reconsider,” Fitzpatrick said.
It’s too early to tell what response Morrisville will get from other districts, he added.
“I hope I would find openness to the idea and possible interest,” he said. “I will be engaging state officials as well to see what they can do to make this feasible.”
Like a bad horror movie where the slasher just keeps on coming back no matter what, we find this morning that the farm program is back.
"Districts south of Route 1" is an interesting phrase that sounds delicately parsed to hide something. Disregarding the fact that Route 1 runs north-south and so there's nothing "south" of Route 1, it sounds like code for Bristol or Philly area districts.
Channelling the (God help me!) Emperor for a moment, what WILL it take for anyone to get this?
You're seeking to dismantle one of the cornerstones that makes a town a home and a place to stay and raise a family. Why would anyone buy a home in Morrisville other than as a starter home? The new family can get in, build some equity, use the elementary schools, and then sell to another young starter family while they move "uptown" to one of the big McDevelopments where there's an actual high school.
I find it distressing that some of the people who have benefited most from a safe and solid Morrisville borough, long term residents who raised their families here next door to the same families for years and years, are some of the prime drivers in derailing the train. The small-town Morrisville is a treasure that should be passed on to the next generation, and generations after that.
This threatens to help turn the borough into nothing more than a trailer park without the wheels. Homeowners: If you thought your home equity was threatened by the recession, you ain't seen nothing yet.
This will all be decided in May when the primary is held. The Emperor has recruited a slate of candidates who will perpetuate this vision of Morrisville. If you do not like this, NOW is the time to come out to the board meetings and see what is happening. If you are able, RUN for the board and defeat these foolish plans.
Officials ask neighboring districts to take students
Morrisville would send its high school students to other districts on a paid tuition basis.
By MANASEE WAGH
Morrisville School District is once again reaching out to other local districts for help.
District solicitor Michael Fitzpatrick recently confirmed that he is contacting neighboring Pennsbury and other school districts south of Route 1 to find out if they would take Morrisville’s high school students on a paid tuition basis.
“This is a strong option that would be considered by the board along with whatever other options are available,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday.
At an average cost of $15,000 per student and a large retiree population, Morrisville has been running into a range of troubles, including coming up short on funds to renovate its school buildings.
Fitzpatrick said that in the current recession, the best option may be to educate grades pre-K through eight in the current high school building, and educate the roughly 300 students in grades nine through 12 elsewhere.
Presumably, the district would sell its two elementary schools. It has scheduled a public hearing later this month to consider closing M.R. Reiter Elementary School, whose heater exploded in mid-December, causing students to be relocated to other district sites for the rest of the school year.
Fitzpatrick said that at least one Morrisville parent has told him that the idea of sending children to other districts on a tuition basis is appealing, given the current problems in Morrisville.
A parent of two children at Reiter, Jermaine Jenkins said he was opposed to the idea of sending any students away to other districts because the relationships that teachers foster with their students need to be maintained.
“I already transitioned my family to Morrisville,” he said. “This small-town atmosphere is beneficial. If you have residents with children, the comfort is in knowing they are in the same district you live in.”
Jenkins added that he plans to run for school board as soon as possible.
In the past, Morrisville has asked Pennsbury to take some of its students, but the larger district has always refused. Recently, Pennsbury school board President Gregory Lucidi said his district’s schools are already at capacity and cannot handle more students.
Fitzpatrick said he has been communicating with Pennsbury for the past six months, but he still has to hear an answer to his latest request.
“Three years ago, any of the neighboring school districts would have easily said no. But given reduced fund balances, and with declining revenues and decreased assessments, the time might be right for them to reconsider,” Fitzpatrick said.
It’s too early to tell what response Morrisville will get from other districts, he added.
“I hope I would find openness to the idea and possible interest,” he said. “I will be engaging state officials as well to see what they can do to make this feasible.”
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Out of the Frying Pan?
From the Inquirer. Something to think about when the farming plan is presented.
Editorial: Safer Schools Posted on Sat, Oct. 18, 2008
By the book
The Philadelphia School District finally gets it. Persistently violent and unruly students must be removed from school to restore order and create a positive learning environment.
School District chief Arlene Ackerman on Wednesday announced a disciplinary crackdown to expel the most violent students and tighten codes for others. "We mean business," she promised.
Plagued by escalating violence, the school district should have taken a harder line years ago by removing serious troublemakers as quickly as possible.
Although it has a zero-tolerance policy that would allow it to do so, the district has not expelled a single student in four years. Instead, offenders were transferred to alternative schools - or worse, left in the very classroom where offenses occurred.
By refusing to expel students who brought weapons to school, the district violated state and federal laws, according to Jack Stollsteimer, the state's safe-schools advocate. In the 2006-07 school year, only 34 percent of the nearly 1,000 students caught with weapons were sent to alternative classrooms.
With 20 city schools deemed "persistently dangerous" last year - and more than 5,000 criminal offenses in schools across the district - that must change.
Strict discipline would help curb violence and give control of classrooms back to teachers and students who want to learn. An expulsion can last for up to a year.
Discipline also must be meted out swiftly and fairly to send a strong message to students that disruptive behavior will no longer be tolerated.
In another step in the right direction, principals can now suspend students for up to 10 days, the maximum allowed by state law. Previously, no student was removed from Philadelphia schools for more than five days.
Of course, the school district cannot focus solely on punishment. Officials also must try to intervene before discipline problems occur by providing services to help students with chronic behavioral problems.
Ackerman's announced crackdown was applauded by the School Reform Commission and Mayor Nutter, who has charged her with improving the school system by drastically cutting the dropout rate and boosting the graduation rate.
The stronger punishments were recommended by a committee of school-safety experts as part of a plan to revamp the discipline system. Before Ackerman, the district had dismissed the committee's findings. But Ackerman, in a hopeful sign of progress, embraced the recommendations.
The district should move quickly to implement the new policies, which include creating a safety cabinet within Ackerman's office and assigning an administrator at every school to oversee safety issues
By enforcing discipline and holding students accountable, the school district can more effectively change the culture and climate in schools. A few bad apples should not be allowed to wreak havoc for the majority of students. They want to learn.
Editorial: Safer Schools Posted on Sat, Oct. 18, 2008
By the book
The Philadelphia School District finally gets it. Persistently violent and unruly students must be removed from school to restore order and create a positive learning environment.
School District chief Arlene Ackerman on Wednesday announced a disciplinary crackdown to expel the most violent students and tighten codes for others. "We mean business," she promised.
Plagued by escalating violence, the school district should have taken a harder line years ago by removing serious troublemakers as quickly as possible.
Although it has a zero-tolerance policy that would allow it to do so, the district has not expelled a single student in four years. Instead, offenders were transferred to alternative schools - or worse, left in the very classroom where offenses occurred.
By refusing to expel students who brought weapons to school, the district violated state and federal laws, according to Jack Stollsteimer, the state's safe-schools advocate. In the 2006-07 school year, only 34 percent of the nearly 1,000 students caught with weapons were sent to alternative classrooms.
With 20 city schools deemed "persistently dangerous" last year - and more than 5,000 criminal offenses in schools across the district - that must change.
Strict discipline would help curb violence and give control of classrooms back to teachers and students who want to learn. An expulsion can last for up to a year.
Discipline also must be meted out swiftly and fairly to send a strong message to students that disruptive behavior will no longer be tolerated.
In another step in the right direction, principals can now suspend students for up to 10 days, the maximum allowed by state law. Previously, no student was removed from Philadelphia schools for more than five days.
Of course, the school district cannot focus solely on punishment. Officials also must try to intervene before discipline problems occur by providing services to help students with chronic behavioral problems.
Ackerman's announced crackdown was applauded by the School Reform Commission and Mayor Nutter, who has charged her with improving the school system by drastically cutting the dropout rate and boosting the graduation rate.
The stronger punishments were recommended by a committee of school-safety experts as part of a plan to revamp the discipline system. Before Ackerman, the district had dismissed the committee's findings. But Ackerman, in a hopeful sign of progress, embraced the recommendations.
The district should move quickly to implement the new policies, which include creating a safety cabinet within Ackerman's office and assigning an administrator at every school to oversee safety issues
By enforcing discipline and holding students accountable, the school district can more effectively change the culture and climate in schools. A few bad apples should not be allowed to wreak havoc for the majority of students. They want to learn.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
“This is ridiculous.”
Here's a background article on Wednesday night's meeting from the BCCT this morning.
Raucous? That's mild understatement. It started in the past with an extremely hostile audience led by those same people who now grace the dais. Soda cans and food packages made their start here too, provided back then by the stop the school side as a disruption for the pro school board members. The change in board majority ensured that the practice would eventually shift over to the other side now.
The food thing is a little over the top from BOTH sides. A quiet drink or small snack might be in order. After all, these are four or five hours marathons, but the practice THEN and the practice NOW of using these snacks as disruptive tools is childish at best.
The identification of the Hellmann-Radosti-Mihok voting axis is accurate but is missing a few members. Brenda Worob and Bill Farrell talk a big game about "independence" and "self-directed thought", but in the end come down on the short-sighted side far more often than a true "independent" would.
Jack Buckman has had an issue with late night meetings through his borough council days, so this is not a new position for him. I would like to know how he had enough information about the budget to be able to cast a vote approving it. Was he aware that he can be held PERSONALLY liable for civil damages as a result of his vote?
Until this school board remembers that they are NOT the local board of taxation, but the SCHOOL board, we're in for more late night meeting follies. The irony is that the Emperor and his accomplices themselves have created the firestorm they find themselves enmeshed in. When they were in the audience, they discarded reasoned discourse and discussion in favor of shouting, screaming, and outright mis-characterization of facts to make their points. Now that they are in charge, the wheel of karma has spun and they are now reaping what they have sowed in terms of audience behavior.
I'd like to say that the anti-board audience is wrong (and in the real world they are!), but it's also the only language these yahoos on the dais understand. Confrontation, maximum disruption, and agitation are their signatures. IRONY ALERT: We've elected a board largely made up of the village idiots to control the schools where we educate our young. And we did it only because we wanted to save a few bucks.
They also never, ever, even to this day, thought about a long term plan and released it to the public. "Stop the school" was all they had. They did it. Now what? I've been asking that question for almost a year now and silence is still the only response. Has it occurred to the Emperor and the board of accomplices that if they dialed back the angry rhetoric a bit and actually opened their mouths to EXPLAIN, that the results would be better?
"Those sitting near the front could hear Yonson say under her breath, 'This is ridiculous.' ” Oh, no, Dr. Yonson. Ridiculous is still a few miles down this pothole riddled highway. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses...
Raucous atmosphere at school board meeting
By MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville meetings are known for their raucous mud-slinging. But Wednesday's meeting was one for the books.
From the shortening of Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson's contract from five to three years to the board president's proposal of across-the-board hiring freezes in the district, diehards on both sides of the issues stuck it out to watch events unfold past midnight.
One spectator started singing “It's the end of the school as we know it,” to the tune of rock band REM's “It's the End of the World as We Know It.”
At least eight people stood at the microphone to protest the board majority's decision to cut Yonson's five-year contract. Some said it was “a slap in the face” and “an insult.”
The routine replacement of aides and teachers who leave the district became fuel for a debate that raged for more than an hour.
Board President William Hellmann got worked up over hiring new staff. To save money, he suggested a hiring freeze, which elicited gaping mouths and stares of disbelief from administrators and boos from audience members.
Yonson explained that the employees are necessary, that they fulfilled vital educational functions, helping to make significant academic gains in the last couple of years.
For example, elementary math performances have risen in the past couple of years. This year's raw unofficial PSSA data shows considerable improvement in 11th-grade scores, from 11 percent proficiency to 55 percent proficiency, said Yonson.
“Do not expect to have the same results if we reduce staff,” she said.
Hellmann's determination to freeze hirings stems from the district's teachers contract, which stipulates a roughly 12:1 student to staff ratio.
Though most general classes are more than 20 students in size, according to Yonson, some kids who need particular help have more aides or teachers.
The bottom line for some board members was the ratio, though.
“It's too much. It's a problem,” was Hellmann's constant refrain about the number of staff needed to teach fewer than 1,000 students and run the district at an annual cost of $19.88 million.
“Our budget's way too high,” he said repeatedly.
Residents who didn't like what Hellmann had to say settled back with containers of goodies, opening them loudly and rumpling them during Hellmann's remarks.
The approximately 75 spectators filling the meeting room in Morrisville's high school during the five-hour meeting seemed as if they were a sporting event.
They booed and cheered repeatedly depending on who was talking.
Some demanded that Hellmann be heard. Others talked over him.
In the end, at least some of the votes did swing toward staff replacements, though Hellmann and board members Marlys Mihok and Alfred Radosti tended to vote against them. Their practice of siding together on just about every vote prompted a resident to demand that the board not “follow the leader.”
Throughout the noisy meeting, Hellmann and opposing board member Robin Reithmeyer drowned each other out, and Hellmann seemed to turn a deaf ear to Yonson's explanations of how the school system works.
Those sitting near the front could hear Yonson say under her breath, “This is ridiculous.”
John Buckman, who replaced the late Edward Frankenfield on the board last week, thought the meeting dragged on too long.
“It was way too long, that's crazy. If I was getting paid and paid by the hour, maybe I wouldn't care,” he said Friday, chuckling. “We've got to find a way to cut the time.”
Buckman, a former school director and borough councilman, said taking so much time is unfair to board members and the public. But he noted asking questions and airing grievances is good. He believes it's valuable to be up-front and communicate.
However, the board and the administration seem to clash frequently.
“In politics, forget it. It's just that way,” said Buckman. “They talk the subject over and over and over. You're not going to get away from it totally.”
Raucous? That's mild understatement. It started in the past with an extremely hostile audience led by those same people who now grace the dais. Soda cans and food packages made their start here too, provided back then by the stop the school side as a disruption for the pro school board members. The change in board majority ensured that the practice would eventually shift over to the other side now.
The food thing is a little over the top from BOTH sides. A quiet drink or small snack might be in order. After all, these are four or five hours marathons, but the practice THEN and the practice NOW of using these snacks as disruptive tools is childish at best.
The identification of the Hellmann-Radosti-Mihok voting axis is accurate but is missing a few members. Brenda Worob and Bill Farrell talk a big game about "independence" and "self-directed thought", but in the end come down on the short-sighted side far more often than a true "independent" would.
Jack Buckman has had an issue with late night meetings through his borough council days, so this is not a new position for him. I would like to know how he had enough information about the budget to be able to cast a vote approving it. Was he aware that he can be held PERSONALLY liable for civil damages as a result of his vote?
Until this school board remembers that they are NOT the local board of taxation, but the SCHOOL board, we're in for more late night meeting follies. The irony is that the Emperor and his accomplices themselves have created the firestorm they find themselves enmeshed in. When they were in the audience, they discarded reasoned discourse and discussion in favor of shouting, screaming, and outright mis-characterization of facts to make their points. Now that they are in charge, the wheel of karma has spun and they are now reaping what they have sowed in terms of audience behavior.
I'd like to say that the anti-board audience is wrong (and in the real world they are!), but it's also the only language these yahoos on the dais understand. Confrontation, maximum disruption, and agitation are their signatures. IRONY ALERT: We've elected a board largely made up of the village idiots to control the schools where we educate our young. And we did it only because we wanted to save a few bucks.
They also never, ever, even to this day, thought about a long term plan and released it to the public. "Stop the school" was all they had. They did it. Now what? I've been asking that question for almost a year now and silence is still the only response. Has it occurred to the Emperor and the board of accomplices that if they dialed back the angry rhetoric a bit and actually opened their mouths to EXPLAIN, that the results would be better?
"Those sitting near the front could hear Yonson say under her breath, 'This is ridiculous.' ” Oh, no, Dr. Yonson. Ridiculous is still a few miles down this pothole riddled highway. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses...
Raucous atmosphere at school board meeting
By MANASEE WAGH
Bucks County Courier Times
Morrisville meetings are known for their raucous mud-slinging. But Wednesday's meeting was one for the books.
From the shortening of Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson's contract from five to three years to the board president's proposal of across-the-board hiring freezes in the district, diehards on both sides of the issues stuck it out to watch events unfold past midnight.
One spectator started singing “It's the end of the school as we know it,” to the tune of rock band REM's “It's the End of the World as We Know It.”
At least eight people stood at the microphone to protest the board majority's decision to cut Yonson's five-year contract. Some said it was “a slap in the face” and “an insult.”
The routine replacement of aides and teachers who leave the district became fuel for a debate that raged for more than an hour.
Board President William Hellmann got worked up over hiring new staff. To save money, he suggested a hiring freeze, which elicited gaping mouths and stares of disbelief from administrators and boos from audience members.
Yonson explained that the employees are necessary, that they fulfilled vital educational functions, helping to make significant academic gains in the last couple of years.
For example, elementary math performances have risen in the past couple of years. This year's raw unofficial PSSA data shows considerable improvement in 11th-grade scores, from 11 percent proficiency to 55 percent proficiency, said Yonson.
“Do not expect to have the same results if we reduce staff,” she said.
Hellmann's determination to freeze hirings stems from the district's teachers contract, which stipulates a roughly 12:1 student to staff ratio.
Though most general classes are more than 20 students in size, according to Yonson, some kids who need particular help have more aides or teachers.
The bottom line for some board members was the ratio, though.
“It's too much. It's a problem,” was Hellmann's constant refrain about the number of staff needed to teach fewer than 1,000 students and run the district at an annual cost of $19.88 million.
“Our budget's way too high,” he said repeatedly.
Residents who didn't like what Hellmann had to say settled back with containers of goodies, opening them loudly and rumpling them during Hellmann's remarks.
The approximately 75 spectators filling the meeting room in Morrisville's high school during the five-hour meeting seemed as if they were a sporting event.
They booed and cheered repeatedly depending on who was talking.
Some demanded that Hellmann be heard. Others talked over him.
In the end, at least some of the votes did swing toward staff replacements, though Hellmann and board members Marlys Mihok and Alfred Radosti tended to vote against them. Their practice of siding together on just about every vote prompted a resident to demand that the board not “follow the leader.”
Throughout the noisy meeting, Hellmann and opposing board member Robin Reithmeyer drowned each other out, and Hellmann seemed to turn a deaf ear to Yonson's explanations of how the school system works.
Those sitting near the front could hear Yonson say under her breath, “This is ridiculous.”
John Buckman, who replaced the late Edward Frankenfield on the board last week, thought the meeting dragged on too long.
“It was way too long, that's crazy. If I was getting paid and paid by the hour, maybe I wouldn't care,” he said Friday, chuckling. “We've got to find a way to cut the time.”
Buckman, a former school director and borough councilman, said taking so much time is unfair to board members and the public. But he noted asking questions and airing grievances is good. He believes it's valuable to be up-front and communicate.
However, the board and the administration seem to clash frequently.
“In politics, forget it. It's just that way,” said Buckman. “They talk the subject over and over and over. You're not going to get away from it totally.”
Friday, June 27, 2008
couriertimesnow.com
Kudos to the new Courier Times website. There's three separate stories posted here about Wednesday night's Morrisville school board meeting.
The first story is member Joe Kemp urging the board majority to do their homework before making changes. The story is sad in that Joe Kemp needs to use BCCT columnist Kate Fratti as his means of communication because the Emperor and his blindly subservient accomplices are unapproachable and indifferent. If you're not pleased with the way the current Stop the School majority is acting, drop them a line at SchoolBoard@mv.org. If you copy savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com, I'll print it as well.
In the second story, the board's shameful treatment of Dr. Elizabeth Yonson is chronicled. Memo to the Emperor and accomplices: You're lucky that Morrisville has this talented administrator at all. If she doesn't sue the ever living crap out of you, it's because she's a better human being alone than you could ever collectively aspire to be. Go. Have the common decency to be ashamed. Especially those board members who keep talking the big talk about being independent, but when the Emperor commands, you keep on running to his beck and call. You may talk the talk, but the audience can clearly see the walk, and it doesn't match the talk.
The third story mentions the dilemma of economics. How do you pay for what you need? Parents are well versed in that daily struggle. Are average taxpayers? Yes, they are. But do some of them really understand the definition of a "community"? Let's also note that the reporter neglected to mention why the millage is lower. Answer: The penny-wise and pound-foolish bond defeasement.
MV school director pleads his case
Posted in News on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 3:01 pm by Columnist Kate Fratti
Morrisville School Board member Joe Kemp today in an email urged the board majority, yet again, to do its homework before committing the troubled district to big change. Kemp, a minority member, worries the board leadership’s serious interest in a plan to tuition out high-school students to save money isn’t being aired in open.”The board should have [Solicitor] Mike Fitzpatrick draft formal letters to any and all school districts or private schools that we may wish to consider for a tuition program. He should also give us his opinion about the legality of such a plan,” he said.
“Talks should be held between a committee of the board and the teachers’ union with legal representation on both sides to see if there is any way to tuition students that will be acceptable by the union.
“We should find out if privatizing our high school means that all private school students would have their tuitions paid by the district. We should consider hiring an architectural firm that works with school districts to tell us the costs of converting our MHS to either a grade school or a K-12.
“We should find out the costs regarding busing as a factor in sending high school students out of the district and would that then make the district a busing district.
Superintendent contract shortened
Posted in News on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 4:37 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Morrisville’s school board majority approved shortening Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson’s contract at Wednesday night’s meeting. The contract was revised to three years instead of five.Yonson has been with the district for at least three years. The previous board renewed her contract for five years, from July 1 this year to June 30, 2013.
Under her leadership, Morrisville schools made several gains, including high performance levels in elementary school math.
Board President William Hellmann did not provide a concrete reason for shortening her contract. He thanked Yonson for doing an exemplary job and said a shorter contract was a better choice.
Yonson herself said it was an irregular course of action. After their first contract expires, most Bucks superintendents who get their contracts renewed do receive five-year contracts, she said.
Fewer taxes = fewer educational services?
Posted in News on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 5:09 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Residents in Morrisville can expect to pay $321 less in taxes next year.
The school board approved a $19.88 million budget Wednesday.
Taxes will lessen to $3,371 for a homeowner with the borough’s average assessed property of $18,000.
Those who were eligible for the homestead/farmstead exclusion will see a further decline of $218.
But there will be consequences, warned administrators. The new budget doesn’t account for all of the $2.2 million needed for special education services and additional money needed for alternative and charter schools.
The district will find a way to pay for all of those uncontrollable costs, but cuts may need to be made in other areas, said administrators. The state mandates that special education and charter and alternative schools must be paid for fully.
The first story is member Joe Kemp urging the board majority to do their homework before making changes. The story is sad in that Joe Kemp needs to use BCCT columnist Kate Fratti as his means of communication because the Emperor and his blindly subservient accomplices are unapproachable and indifferent. If you're not pleased with the way the current Stop the School majority is acting, drop them a line at SchoolBoard@mv.org. If you copy savethemorrisvilleschool@yahoo.com, I'll print it as well.
In the second story, the board's shameful treatment of Dr. Elizabeth Yonson is chronicled. Memo to the Emperor and accomplices: You're lucky that Morrisville has this talented administrator at all. If she doesn't sue the ever living crap out of you, it's because she's a better human being alone than you could ever collectively aspire to be. Go. Have the common decency to be ashamed. Especially those board members who keep talking the big talk about being independent, but when the Emperor commands, you keep on running to his beck and call. You may talk the talk, but the audience can clearly see the walk, and it doesn't match the talk.
The third story mentions the dilemma of economics. How do you pay for what you need? Parents are well versed in that daily struggle. Are average taxpayers? Yes, they are. But do some of them really understand the definition of a "community"? Let's also note that the reporter neglected to mention why the millage is lower. Answer: The penny-wise and pound-foolish bond defeasement.
MV school director pleads his case
Posted in News on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 3:01 pm by Columnist Kate Fratti
Morrisville School Board member Joe Kemp today in an email urged the board majority, yet again, to do its homework before committing the troubled district to big change. Kemp, a minority member, worries the board leadership’s serious interest in a plan to tuition out high-school students to save money isn’t being aired in open.”The board should have [Solicitor] Mike Fitzpatrick draft formal letters to any and all school districts or private schools that we may wish to consider for a tuition program. He should also give us his opinion about the legality of such a plan,” he said.
“Talks should be held between a committee of the board and the teachers’ union with legal representation on both sides to see if there is any way to tuition students that will be acceptable by the union.
“We should find out if privatizing our high school means that all private school students would have their tuitions paid by the district. We should consider hiring an architectural firm that works with school districts to tell us the costs of converting our MHS to either a grade school or a K-12.
“We should find out the costs regarding busing as a factor in sending high school students out of the district and would that then make the district a busing district.
Superintendent contract shortened
Posted in News on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 4:37 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Morrisville’s school board majority approved shortening Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson’s contract at Wednesday night’s meeting. The contract was revised to three years instead of five.Yonson has been with the district for at least three years. The previous board renewed her contract for five years, from July 1 this year to June 30, 2013.
Under her leadership, Morrisville schools made several gains, including high performance levels in elementary school math.
Board President William Hellmann did not provide a concrete reason for shortening her contract. He thanked Yonson for doing an exemplary job and said a shorter contract was a better choice.
Yonson herself said it was an irregular course of action. After their first contract expires, most Bucks superintendents who get their contracts renewed do receive five-year contracts, she said.
Fewer taxes = fewer educational services?
Posted in News on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 5:09 pm by Courier Times reporter Manasee Wagh
Residents in Morrisville can expect to pay $321 less in taxes next year.
The school board approved a $19.88 million budget Wednesday.
Taxes will lessen to $3,371 for a homeowner with the borough’s average assessed property of $18,000.
Those who were eligible for the homestead/farmstead exclusion will see a further decline of $218.
But there will be consequences, warned administrators. The new budget doesn’t account for all of the $2.2 million needed for special education services and additional money needed for alternative and charter schools.
The district will find a way to pay for all of those uncontrollable costs, but cuts may need to be made in other areas, said administrators. The state mandates that special education and charter and alternative schools must be paid for fully.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Greenland Update
No real news just yet. The Arkansas Dept. of Education isn't announcing anything until mid-July, but the surrounding districts are already scrambling to assess the impact. This is what Pennsbury and any other targeted potential pasture for our farmed high school students is doing.
This is a great quote: "It may come down to where it doesn't matter what any of the school districts want," said Tim Helder, the board president. "The state board may just tell us how it's going to be."
Yup. That's pretty much the way it will go.
West Fork Board Considers Financial Impact Of Greenland
Surrounding School Districts Awaiting State's Decision
Last updated Thursday, June 19, 2008 9:54 PM CDT in News
By Bob Caudle
The Morning News
WEST FORK - Greenland School District's financial woes are not confined just to Greenland.
Diane Barrett, the superintendent of West Fork schools, said a preliminary look at absorbing certified staff members from Greenland and bringing them up to the West Fork school salary schedule would cost about $1 million.
"Those are just rough figures," Barrett stressed.
Greenland school officials received a letter from state department of education June 13 informing them the school district faces being dissolved because of fiscal distress.
The West Fork School Board met in special session Thursday night to discuss the impact on West Fork if the Arkansas Board of Education annexes Greenland schools into contiguous school districts.
Barrett told the board she doesn't have sound financial figures yet, and there's no guarantee West Fork would be the only school forced to take Greenland staff members and students.
The Department of Education recommended to the Board of Education to immediately annex Greenland schools into another geographically contiguous school district. The other schools mentioned by the department as possible destinations for Greenland students are Fayetteville, Elkins, Farmington, Mountainburg and Prairie Grove.
Greenland will have a chance to appeal the recommendation at a meeting of the state school board at 9 a.m. July 14. The contiguous school districts also can attend the meeting to present a case on whether they want Greenland schools.
"It may come down to where it doesn't matter what any of the school districts want," said Tim Helder, the board president. "The state board may just tell us how it's going to be."
Helder said the best outcome would be for Greenland to win its appeal and be able to keep its school.
"Maybe Greenland can present information at the appeal hearing that shows they've gotten their ducks in a row," Helder said. "We do have empathy for what Greenland's going through."
Barrett said she participated in a Thursday morning meeting with superintendents of the other contiguous schools.
"The consensus seemed to be the board will look at things geographically," Barrett said. "We have to look at the financial impact. But we don't know if the board is going to consider that."
About 15 people attended the meeting, including two Winslow patrons, Leta McGuire and Velma Duncan.
Both are members of the Winslow City Council, and both expressed bitterness about the closing of Winslow schools after Winslow was forced to annex and chose Greenland.
Duncan said Winslow residents don't want even to consider going to Fayetteville.
"We don't want Fayetteville's tax base and they don't want us because it's too far to bus us," Duncan said. "We'd petitioned Greenland to just let us go since they blamed this whole mess on us. But they wouldn't listen."
Duncan said West Fork already has about 80 percent of former Winslow students after Greenland closed Winslow schools.
Helder said the West Fork School Board will meet again, tentatively at 6 p.m. June 27. Any input from West Fork on the Greenland annexation must be into the state board by noon June 30, Barrett said.
"We need to meet when you have figures you're comfortable with and listen to your recommendation," Helder told Barrett.
This is a great quote: "It may come down to where it doesn't matter what any of the school districts want," said Tim Helder, the board president. "The state board may just tell us how it's going to be."
Yup. That's pretty much the way it will go.
West Fork Board Considers Financial Impact Of Greenland
Surrounding School Districts Awaiting State's Decision
Last updated Thursday, June 19, 2008 9:54 PM CDT in News
By Bob Caudle
The Morning News
WEST FORK - Greenland School District's financial woes are not confined just to Greenland.
Diane Barrett, the superintendent of West Fork schools, said a preliminary look at absorbing certified staff members from Greenland and bringing them up to the West Fork school salary schedule would cost about $1 million.
"Those are just rough figures," Barrett stressed.
Greenland school officials received a letter from state department of education June 13 informing them the school district faces being dissolved because of fiscal distress.
The West Fork School Board met in special session Thursday night to discuss the impact on West Fork if the Arkansas Board of Education annexes Greenland schools into contiguous school districts.
Barrett told the board she doesn't have sound financial figures yet, and there's no guarantee West Fork would be the only school forced to take Greenland staff members and students.
The Department of Education recommended to the Board of Education to immediately annex Greenland schools into another geographically contiguous school district. The other schools mentioned by the department as possible destinations for Greenland students are Fayetteville, Elkins, Farmington, Mountainburg and Prairie Grove.
Greenland will have a chance to appeal the recommendation at a meeting of the state school board at 9 a.m. July 14. The contiguous school districts also can attend the meeting to present a case on whether they want Greenland schools.
"It may come down to where it doesn't matter what any of the school districts want," said Tim Helder, the board president. "The state board may just tell us how it's going to be."
Helder said the best outcome would be for Greenland to win its appeal and be able to keep its school.
"Maybe Greenland can present information at the appeal hearing that shows they've gotten their ducks in a row," Helder said. "We do have empathy for what Greenland's going through."
Barrett said she participated in a Thursday morning meeting with superintendents of the other contiguous schools.
"The consensus seemed to be the board will look at things geographically," Barrett said. "We have to look at the financial impact. But we don't know if the board is going to consider that."
About 15 people attended the meeting, including two Winslow patrons, Leta McGuire and Velma Duncan.
Both are members of the Winslow City Council, and both expressed bitterness about the closing of Winslow schools after Winslow was forced to annex and chose Greenland.
Duncan said Winslow residents don't want even to consider going to Fayetteville.
"We don't want Fayetteville's tax base and they don't want us because it's too far to bus us," Duncan said. "We'd petitioned Greenland to just let us go since they blamed this whole mess on us. But they wouldn't listen."
Duncan said West Fork already has about 80 percent of former Winslow students after Greenland closed Winslow schools.
Helder said the West Fork School Board will meet again, tentatively at 6 p.m. June 27. Any input from West Fork on the Greenland annexation must be into the state board by noon June 30, Barrett said.
"We need to meet when you have figures you're comfortable with and listen to your recommendation," Helder told Barrett.
Monday, June 16, 2008
As Promised, Monday's Followup
Here's the column that Kate Fratti promised last week from her recent discussions with the Emperor and Angry Al.
Roadblock to drastic changes
Continuing their investigation into ways to reduce costs in Morrisville School District, Bill Hellmann and Al Radosti met with a Delaware Valley High School representative Tuesday afternoon.
She arrived at Hellmann’s West Bridge Street office just as a reporter and I were leaving it. We’d spent 90 minutes with Hellmann, Radosti and board member Bill Farrell, who agreed to share their rationale for proposing drastic changes to the financially strapped school system.
How drastic? They seem to have given up hope of any merger with neighboring Pennsbury. So, by September 2009, some board members hope to have closed at least one grade school, maybe two, and consolidated all grades in the middle/senior high school building. That is unless, by then they’ve been able to tuition highschoolers out at substantial reductions in cost per student. In that case, the current high school building would hold just K-8.
DVH is best known for educating at-risk kids, but President Dave Shulick has said it is accredited and experienced in regular education. Although Shulick has expressed interest in privatizing Morrisville High, Hellmann maintains he met with DVH this time to learn more about how alternative schools work. I have trouble buying that, but he’s insistent.
As for changes, Hellmann acknowledges the high school would need renovations to accommodate new grades, but that’s the least of obstacles.
The roadblock to consolidation and severe cost-cutting is a 5-year teacher contract that prevents furloughs or any substantial change to the student-staff ratio until 2012. Morrisville’s student-staff ratio stands at12.3 to 1, which doesn’t always give a true picture of class size, but does dictate the number of professionals who must stay on the rolls. There are 71 teachers, 1 psychologist, 3 guidance counselors and a nurse and two gifted/instructional support aides for fewer than 1,000 kids.
Hellmann said savings realized by farming out high-schoolers could be used to reduce teaching ranks. “Maybe retirement incentives,” Hellmann said.
He conceded Morrisville, under the direction of Superintendent Beth Yonson, is successfully educating children in its elementary schools, but says the high school has become a last resort for kids failed by the Trenton school system across the river. They move into Morrisville at very low reading and math levels. “We can’t be the special education center for Bucks and Mercer counties,” he laments.
Radosti, whose gruff way of expressing his unfiltered thoughts about kids today, changes in society and Morrisville’s proximity to the Trenton school system has won few friends among more liberalminded residents, says he’s weary of being accused of being racist and anti-education just because he wants to cut costs so people his age can keep their homes. He raises his voice two decibels to explain to me just how weary.
A Morrisville grad and a retired police officer, he worked two and three jobs to send a son to Notre Dame High School and a daughter to Grey Nun Academy. In each case, because he feared Morrisville classrooms were too disruptive. Nothing like the school system he enjoyed years before them. Don’t tell him he doesn’t value education.
Hellmann sent all but one of his kids to Conwell-Egan Catholic. He has approached CEC about a tuition program for Morrisville.
Neither man pretends to have any warm and fuzzy emotional ties to a school system they say is a drain on its townspeople. It’s a problem, Hellmann says.
It looks like he’s working to be rid of it — and soon.
Roadblock to drastic changes
Continuing their investigation into ways to reduce costs in Morrisville School District, Bill Hellmann and Al Radosti met with a Delaware Valley High School representative Tuesday afternoon.
She arrived at Hellmann’s West Bridge Street office just as a reporter and I were leaving it. We’d spent 90 minutes with Hellmann, Radosti and board member Bill Farrell, who agreed to share their rationale for proposing drastic changes to the financially strapped school system.
How drastic? They seem to have given up hope of any merger with neighboring Pennsbury. So, by September 2009, some board members hope to have closed at least one grade school, maybe two, and consolidated all grades in the middle/senior high school building. That is unless, by then they’ve been able to tuition highschoolers out at substantial reductions in cost per student. In that case, the current high school building would hold just K-8.
DVH is best known for educating at-risk kids, but President Dave Shulick has said it is accredited and experienced in regular education. Although Shulick has expressed interest in privatizing Morrisville High, Hellmann maintains he met with DVH this time to learn more about how alternative schools work. I have trouble buying that, but he’s insistent.
As for changes, Hellmann acknowledges the high school would need renovations to accommodate new grades, but that’s the least of obstacles.
The roadblock to consolidation and severe cost-cutting is a 5-year teacher contract that prevents furloughs or any substantial change to the student-staff ratio until 2012. Morrisville’s student-staff ratio stands at12.3 to 1, which doesn’t always give a true picture of class size, but does dictate the number of professionals who must stay on the rolls. There are 71 teachers, 1 psychologist, 3 guidance counselors and a nurse and two gifted/instructional support aides for fewer than 1,000 kids.
Hellmann said savings realized by farming out high-schoolers could be used to reduce teaching ranks. “Maybe retirement incentives,” Hellmann said.
He conceded Morrisville, under the direction of Superintendent Beth Yonson, is successfully educating children in its elementary schools, but says the high school has become a last resort for kids failed by the Trenton school system across the river. They move into Morrisville at very low reading and math levels. “We can’t be the special education center for Bucks and Mercer counties,” he laments.
Radosti, whose gruff way of expressing his unfiltered thoughts about kids today, changes in society and Morrisville’s proximity to the Trenton school system has won few friends among more liberalminded residents, says he’s weary of being accused of being racist and anti-education just because he wants to cut costs so people his age can keep their homes. He raises his voice two decibels to explain to me just how weary.
A Morrisville grad and a retired police officer, he worked two and three jobs to send a son to Notre Dame High School and a daughter to Grey Nun Academy. In each case, because he feared Morrisville classrooms were too disruptive. Nothing like the school system he enjoyed years before them. Don’t tell him he doesn’t value education.
Hellmann sent all but one of his kids to Conwell-Egan Catholic. He has approached CEC about a tuition program for Morrisville.
Neither man pretends to have any warm and fuzzy emotional ties to a school system they say is a drain on its townspeople. It’s a problem, Hellmann says.
It looks like he’s working to be rid of it — and soon.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Farming Poll: Part II
As you can see, I have a new poll entered and I encourage you to vote. The Emperor still doesn't "get it". Please vote and make sure that he and his accomplices know that you are tired of his egotistical ways.
If you vote one of the "do what's right for the kids" options, that's fine, but why don't you let us know what you think is the "right" thing to do.
If you vote one of the "do what's right for the kids" options, that's fine, but why don't you let us know what you think is the "right" thing to do.
The 110th and Next to Last Graduating Class
Last night the next to last (penultimate, for those sesquipedalians out there) graduating class from Morrisville High School was presented with their diplomas. Apparently the class of 2009 will be receiving walking papers.
Kudos to Superintendent Yonson and the institution of the Edward H. Frankenfield Memorial Award. A good man like that deserves to be remembered by the measure of a student's service to others. It's too bad that his memory is being trampled upon by the likes of the Emperor and Angry Al as they seek to dismantle the community they claim to be protecting.
Congratulations and best wishes to the Class of 2008.
Take a look at the statistics from these young women and men. Why is this school board trying to push them away? Why aren't their achievements and successes being celebrated?
Taking lessons into the future
“As we leave here, we should remember the lessons we learned and use them to the best of our ability,” one speaker said.
By MANASEE WAGH
While Morrisville High School’s graduating class was small, its seniors truly enjoyed the close-knit community they formed.
That was the consensus of many of the 73 graduates at Wednesday evening’s commencement ceremony on the high school grounds.
“It’s nice. You get to talk to everyone and you know everyone,” said graduate Ashley Woodhouse.
This year marked the 110th commencement of a high school in which teachers could connect with a small student body on a more personal level, said several students. Salutatorian Lauren Ramos, who’s planning a career in forensics, thanked several of her teachers for guiding her through the trials of four years of high school and for making learning fun.
“As we leave here, we should remember the lessons we learned and use them to the best of our ability,” she told her classmates.
The speaker giving the commencement address this year, sportscaster Don Tollefson, garnered much applause from listeners for his words of inspiration.
“Never let a single human being tell you there’s something you cannot do,” he told students. Tollefson brought up the Democratic election as an example of how minorities Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama bucked tradition to run for the White House.
He also advised them that failure is “a stepping stone,” and that they should never give up.
As a tribute to the graduates’ community involvement, Morrisville Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson introduced an award in honor of recently deceased school board member, Edward Frankenfield.
“He contributed to the community in so many ways,” said Yonson. With Frankenfield’s wife and son, she presented graduate Sarah O’Connor with the honorary Edward H. Frankenfield Memorial Award for many hours of volunteer service with a variety of community services and organizations.
Presenting one graduate with the award plaque and a monetary gift will become an annual tradition, said Yonson.
This year’s class earned nearly 6,000 hours of community service altogether.
Senior class President Justin Howell said that the community and the schools are closely connected in Morrisville.
“I’ll always feel I’m part of the community here,” he said. “We can move on with the knowledge that we can be proud of our hometown and we have a hometown that’s proud of us.”
Morrisville High School
Graduates: 73
National Honor Society members: 3
Valedictorian: Matthew Miller
Salutatorian: Lauren Ramos
Student speakers: Justin Howell (President of Class), Brittany Caldwell (Vice President), Christina Doan (Secretary), Andrew Brake (Treasury)
Percent going on to higher education: 81
Percent going into the military: 1
Percent going to the workforce: 18
Amount of scholarship money offered (to entire class; not just the amount accepted; this is the total amount offered) $257,734
Number of community service hours (by the entire class of "08): 5,933 hours
Noteworthy accomplishments of the graduating class: The seniors organized a charity Powder Puff Football Game for a local family whose daughter had cancer; Bicentennial Athletic League Championships in softball and baseball; 31 seniors earned 197 dual enrollment college credits.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Not a Tony Winning Performance
The BCCT today again recognized that the Emperor is running a one man show. Unlike the folksy Mark Twain of Hal Holbrook, or the spot on Ebenezer Scrooge by Patrick Stewart, the world of William Hellmann, CPA, Emperor of Education, is far less entertaining. It is a dark and sinister place. His penchant for sharp and divisive activity, especially where none was needed, has been played out time after time.
"Let's speed this up." "Vote now." "I'm tired of all this." "Let's move on." "Your time is up." The schools director who is for the taxpayer. Isn't that a rather ironic slice of life? All through literature, we find the story of the guy on the wrong side of things. Through experiences, they find the right side, move over, and there's a happy ending. Not so here.
I do take issue with the use of the word virtuoso in the editorial below. The connotation of that word is rather exemplary, defining someone with exceptional and unique talents. We're all unique. It's what we do that is a moral issue. It is often an innocent progression, which leads unexpectedly to other, possible nasty, uses.
There's still a way out. A reader already suggested a way that the board members themselves can begin to clean up the mess quickly, quietly, and without a monetary cost.
I can't **RECALL** another way to handle this myself...
While I do not think that the Emperor is capital "E" Evil personified (think Hitler and Stalin), his obvious inability to work and play well with others is a small "e" evil that does need to be addressed.
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Evil is nourished and grows by concealment." - Virgil
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
"Of two evils, choose neither." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
One-man band
Multiple heads are better than one.
Morrisville school board President William Hellman is very smart and very capable. He thinks big and has lots of ideas.
Problem is he’s a one-man band. Nobody else on the board gets to play along. At least that’s the way it appears.
Thus, a stunning and divisive proposal to simply dissolve the high school and pay for students to be educated in other districts shows up as a formal proposal. No public debate by board members. No input from citizens.
Maybe Hellmann’s plan is the best thing for the struggling district, its overburdened taxpayers and, most importantly, the students. And maybe shutting the borough’s two elementary schools and uniting them at a renovated high school is a great solution, too — another of Hellman’s big ideas.
It’s just that other board members, as elected representatives of the people, and the people themselves, ought to be part of the planning process.
We strongly urge the borough’s virtuoso board president to share the spotlight.
"Let's speed this up." "Vote now." "I'm tired of all this." "Let's move on." "Your time is up." The schools director who is for the taxpayer. Isn't that a rather ironic slice of life? All through literature, we find the story of the guy on the wrong side of things. Through experiences, they find the right side, move over, and there's a happy ending. Not so here.
I do take issue with the use of the word virtuoso in the editorial below. The connotation of that word is rather exemplary, defining someone with exceptional and unique talents. We're all unique. It's what we do that is a moral issue. It is often an innocent progression, which leads unexpectedly to other, possible nasty, uses.
There's still a way out. A reader already suggested a way that the board members themselves can begin to clean up the mess quickly, quietly, and without a monetary cost.
I can't **RECALL** another way to handle this myself...
While I do not think that the Emperor is capital "E" Evil personified (think Hitler and Stalin), his obvious inability to work and play well with others is a small "e" evil that does need to be addressed.
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it." - Martin Luther King Jr.
"Evil is nourished and grows by concealment." - Virgil
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
"When you choose the lesser of two evils, always remember that it is still an evil." - Max Lerner
"Of two evils, choose neither." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon
One-man band
Multiple heads are better than one.
Morrisville school board President William Hellman is very smart and very capable. He thinks big and has lots of ideas.
Problem is he’s a one-man band. Nobody else on the board gets to play along. At least that’s the way it appears.
Thus, a stunning and divisive proposal to simply dissolve the high school and pay for students to be educated in other districts shows up as a formal proposal. No public debate by board members. No input from citizens.
Maybe Hellmann’s plan is the best thing for the struggling district, its overburdened taxpayers and, most importantly, the students. And maybe shutting the borough’s two elementary schools and uniting them at a renovated high school is a great solution, too — another of Hellman’s big ideas.
It’s just that other board members, as elected representatives of the people, and the people themselves, ought to be part of the planning process.
We strongly urge the borough’s virtuoso board president to share the spotlight.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
And to Think I Was Worried About PAPA Bear...
There are days when I truly wonder if anyone is reading. Once that "post" button is pressed, do my posts go anywhere? Does anyone read them?
Then one of you go and remind me that, yes, there is someone out there. Thanks, Mother Bear. Thank you for the thoughtful and reflective essay. You have truly made my day. Please make sure that you put in your application for the school board. You would be a worthy successor to Ed Frankenfield.
Parents: Your last opportunity to make a difference in YOUR child's education is here. Remain silent, and Morrisville High School closes its doors for good. The high schoolers are farmed out and we become a K-8 district. Is that what you want?
I've noticed we've all been a bit quiet lately - stunned perhaps? I wrote the following opinion/long rant if you are interested in posting it. I'd prefer to remain anonymous at least for now.
Opinion:
There has been much buzz about what lies in the future for Morrisville students. Parents are worried, young teens working toward future goals are anxious, not knowing what lies ahead, where they will be attending school next year or the year after. The board majority has been nothing but grossly disrespectful of the population it was elected to serve -- the students. [NOTE: This is where the root of the problem lies. The Emperor believes his constituency is the taxpayers, not the students. All of you who voted for the Stop the School people: Do you believe the same thing? The correct answer is that his constituency is MORRISVILLE: Child, Student, Taxpayer, and Seniors. Even if you do not have a child or grandchild in this school system directly, you probably have nieces or nephews or grandchildren in other districts. Would you be comfortable trusting their education to William Hellman, CPA, Emperor of Education? LOL--I didn't think so. So why is it OK for the Morrisville students? Stop concentrating entirely on your wallet and consider the long term effects of what this plan will do.]
Board President Bill Hellmann revealed his "plan" at the latest school board meeting, confirming rumors that high school students will be bused to some other school. Despite this revelation, there has yet to be any real public discussion by the current Morrisville board on the issue of tuitioning out the high school and moving K-8 to that building, so we can't be certain of the board majority's intentions. We can, however, make some educated guesses based on the little drops of information that have been squeezed out.
Research into this scenario might offer board members some insight into how it would actually play out. But the board majority appears to be poised to move forward with a plan, without studied contemplation and in spite of the plain facts and expert advice that is available to them. The educational progress, time and money potentially wasted, without obtaining factual information or even looking to that which has already been provided through past studies, could be devastating to this community and our students.
If Hellmann's scheme is the direction the board chooses -we can be certain of some of the roadblocks. First, that the board will not be able to move the elementary school students to the high school building until a suitable plan is in place for the high school students. What might this be? Didn't the Courier recently reveal that neighboring public schools had been contacted about accepting our students for tuition, but all were either unable or unwilling to do so? And, that two Catholic schools and one alternative school expressed some interest?
To this end, unless the state forces another local school to accept our students, or the board decides to bus them far from home, we might speculate that the board appears to be considering some sort of voucher program. The NEA website has some interesting information about the outcomes of voucher programs in other states http://www.nea.org/vouchers/02voutrack.html. If such a plan is in place the law still requires that districts provide a "Free and Appropriate Education" for all students. This means, those for whom space is not available in another school must still be educated, and that education must be appropriate to the students needs.
Could all Morrisville high school students be sent to Catholic School? I would imagine that the constitutional separation of church and state would prevent such a plan being legal for all students. If I am of another religion or simply not interested in my child attending a religious school, I think I'd have a pretty sound legal argument for not sending my child to a Catholic School. The district might offer me the same tuition in a voucher to opt for another school, but if I cannot find another available school at the same tuition, and I cannot afford the difference, the district is still obligated to provide me with a free and appropriate education.
Is my only alternative, then "Alternative School"? Is alternative school appropriate for all students? How will the district provide free and appropriate education for students who are not Catholic or don't require an alternative school program?
Let's say the board somehow overcomes the glitch of actually having to provide education for all our high school students, and we are ready to move the elementary students in. The district will have to get state approval for the plan and the facilities will have to comply with PDE code for elementary school students. Past research has indicated that major renovations are required in order for the building to be acceptable for elementary school use. In addition, there are the problems with air flow (backwards in case of fire -- see past engineering studies), energy inefficiency and outdated systems to overcome. Has the board studied this beyond the brief walk through personally commissioned by our board president but paid for by the public?
There are numerous sound, reasonable ways we can brainstorm to educate all of our students, but we need to work within reality and with absolute accountability to the children. The board majority, or at least the President and one other "we", seem to have forged a plan without public debate, without research, without regard for the educational program or the needs of the students. This so-called plan is really just a numbers-crunching scheme, and does not reflect responsible school directorship. Nor does the budget for this year, where the board is proposing arbitrary cuts to special and alternative school education in defiance of the professional advice of educators. Perhaps the plan is "Hellmann's Plan", and the budget is "Hellmann's Budget", but where then is the deliberation? Where are the answers to our questions?
(Notable exceptions -- Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer have both worked to provide respectful answers, along with the shining example of respectful board service, the late Ed Frankenfield.)
The board has an ethical and legal obligation to the students of this district. Perhaps the President and others did not know what they were getting into, besides their single minded and unresearched mission to stop the new school. However, as elected officials they are, whether they like it or not, accountable to the laws that protect the rights of our children. Their duty involves due diligence in decision making, along with accountability to Sunshine Laws that require public deliberation and protect the public's right to know of and be heard in board policy and decision making. [Note: Bold is mine]
School board service is serious business with the ultimate outcome of helping to shape the future for our students. Our children cannot be guinea pigs to the board president's unstudied plans. They don't have time for trial and error; childhood is short. If board members are not up to serving our children -- all of our children, renters, owners, children with special needs, and children who require alternative education -- through diligent, studied, responsible decision making, then they don't deserve the honor of this position.
Mother Bear
Then one of you go and remind me that, yes, there is someone out there. Thanks, Mother Bear. Thank you for the thoughtful and reflective essay. You have truly made my day. Please make sure that you put in your application for the school board. You would be a worthy successor to Ed Frankenfield.
Parents: Your last opportunity to make a difference in YOUR child's education is here. Remain silent, and Morrisville High School closes its doors for good. The high schoolers are farmed out and we become a K-8 district. Is that what you want?
I've noticed we've all been a bit quiet lately - stunned perhaps? I wrote the following opinion/long rant if you are interested in posting it. I'd prefer to remain anonymous at least for now.
Opinion:
There has been much buzz about what lies in the future for Morrisville students. Parents are worried, young teens working toward future goals are anxious, not knowing what lies ahead, where they will be attending school next year or the year after. The board majority has been nothing but grossly disrespectful of the population it was elected to serve -- the students. [NOTE: This is where the root of the problem lies. The Emperor believes his constituency is the taxpayers, not the students. All of you who voted for the Stop the School people: Do you believe the same thing? The correct answer is that his constituency is MORRISVILLE: Child, Student, Taxpayer, and Seniors. Even if you do not have a child or grandchild in this school system directly, you probably have nieces or nephews or grandchildren in other districts. Would you be comfortable trusting their education to William Hellman, CPA, Emperor of Education? LOL--I didn't think so. So why is it OK for the Morrisville students? Stop concentrating entirely on your wallet and consider the long term effects of what this plan will do.]
Board President Bill Hellmann revealed his "plan" at the latest school board meeting, confirming rumors that high school students will be bused to some other school. Despite this revelation, there has yet to be any real public discussion by the current Morrisville board on the issue of tuitioning out the high school and moving K-8 to that building, so we can't be certain of the board majority's intentions. We can, however, make some educated guesses based on the little drops of information that have been squeezed out.
Research into this scenario might offer board members some insight into how it would actually play out. But the board majority appears to be poised to move forward with a plan, without studied contemplation and in spite of the plain facts and expert advice that is available to them. The educational progress, time and money potentially wasted, without obtaining factual information or even looking to that which has already been provided through past studies, could be devastating to this community and our students.
If Hellmann's scheme is the direction the board chooses -we can be certain of some of the roadblocks. First, that the board will not be able to move the elementary school students to the high school building until a suitable plan is in place for the high school students. What might this be? Didn't the Courier recently reveal that neighboring public schools had been contacted about accepting our students for tuition, but all were either unable or unwilling to do so? And, that two Catholic schools and one alternative school expressed some interest?
To this end, unless the state forces another local school to accept our students, or the board decides to bus them far from home, we might speculate that the board appears to be considering some sort of voucher program. The NEA website has some interesting information about the outcomes of voucher programs in other states http://www.nea.org/vouchers/02voutrack.html. If such a plan is in place the law still requires that districts provide a "Free and Appropriate Education" for all students. This means, those for whom space is not available in another school must still be educated, and that education must be appropriate to the students needs.
Could all Morrisville high school students be sent to Catholic School? I would imagine that the constitutional separation of church and state would prevent such a plan being legal for all students. If I am of another religion or simply not interested in my child attending a religious school, I think I'd have a pretty sound legal argument for not sending my child to a Catholic School. The district might offer me the same tuition in a voucher to opt for another school, but if I cannot find another available school at the same tuition, and I cannot afford the difference, the district is still obligated to provide me with a free and appropriate education.
Is my only alternative, then "Alternative School"? Is alternative school appropriate for all students? How will the district provide free and appropriate education for students who are not Catholic or don't require an alternative school program?
Let's say the board somehow overcomes the glitch of actually having to provide education for all our high school students, and we are ready to move the elementary students in. The district will have to get state approval for the plan and the facilities will have to comply with PDE code for elementary school students. Past research has indicated that major renovations are required in order for the building to be acceptable for elementary school use. In addition, there are the problems with air flow (backwards in case of fire -- see past engineering studies), energy inefficiency and outdated systems to overcome. Has the board studied this beyond the brief walk through personally commissioned by our board president but paid for by the public?
There are numerous sound, reasonable ways we can brainstorm to educate all of our students, but we need to work within reality and with absolute accountability to the children. The board majority, or at least the President and one other "we", seem to have forged a plan without public debate, without research, without regard for the educational program or the needs of the students. This so-called plan is really just a numbers-crunching scheme, and does not reflect responsible school directorship. Nor does the budget for this year, where the board is proposing arbitrary cuts to special and alternative school education in defiance of the professional advice of educators. Perhaps the plan is "Hellmann's Plan", and the budget is "Hellmann's Budget", but where then is the deliberation? Where are the answers to our questions?
(Notable exceptions -- Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer have both worked to provide respectful answers, along with the shining example of respectful board service, the late Ed Frankenfield.)
The board has an ethical and legal obligation to the students of this district. Perhaps the President and others did not know what they were getting into, besides their single minded and unresearched mission to stop the new school. However, as elected officials they are, whether they like it or not, accountable to the laws that protect the rights of our children. Their duty involves due diligence in decision making, along with accountability to Sunshine Laws that require public deliberation and protect the public's right to know of and be heard in board policy and decision making. [Note: Bold is mine]
School board service is serious business with the ultimate outcome of helping to shape the future for our students. Our children cannot be guinea pigs to the board president's unstudied plans. They don't have time for trial and error; childhood is short. If board members are not up to serving our children -- all of our children, renters, owners, children with special needs, and children who require alternative education -- through diligent, studied, responsible decision making, then they don't deserve the honor of this position.
Mother Bear
Friday, May 30, 2008
Hellmann Schools Death Plan
Here's the BCCT article on the Hellmann death plan for the schools.
For all of his deficiencies as a human being in general (supreme arrogance being the most glaring) the Emperor is not stupid. He can do this. Yes, I take back what I said yesterday after having some time to think about it. He has three solid puppet accomplices who would vote for anything as long as Hellmann wished it: Al Radosti, Marlys Mihok, and Brenda Worob. (Did you notice that is now the "leadership" on the board?) That's a 4-4 tie vote at best. The the fifth vote comes over the dead body of committed schools champion Ed Frankenfield. A reliable new toady will be appointed and the fait is truly accompli. Forget about (no direct disrespect to any of these four people, but it's the truth) the unsteady waffling of Bill Farrell and Gloria Heater. They are as irrelevant as Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer, and if they happen to support the plan, that's just another vote in favor.
The teachers union negotiations will ultimately result in concessions of one sort or another that will begin to pave the road. Financing will appear. So will the buses to Pennsbury, Bristol, Council Rock, or even DVHS at the deep, deep discount Joe Kemp mentioned earlier.
It's only money. That's the only thing driving this latter day Scrooge-like board. There's no happy ending for Tiny Tim here. His special ed is being cut too. Paging the three ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future: Your table is ready. The Emperor is already seated.
The Emperor's vision for Morrisville was conceived during his long, long period of isolation as a rusting Tin Man longing for a heart. The difference here is that instead of journeying to see the Wizard and obtaining that heart, (or remixing my metaphors, being visited by the ghosts), he realized that rusting away in the field was his highest ambition, and he wants Oz-like Morrisville to rust right alongside him.
Give the Emperor his kudos. He's played his hand well and the public has played their role to perfection: They stayed home and did nothing. It's just about too late and we're watching the end of MHS. We're gathered at the bedside of the dying patient and we're waiting for five votes to pull the plug.
Beep....beep......beep..........beep.........................beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
Board president presents school consolidation plan
By MANASEE WAGH
The three public schools in the Morrisville School District could shrink to just one in the future.
School board President William Hellmann announced a three-pronged plan of how he would do that at Wednesday’s board meeting:
Grades nine through 12 would be absorbed by other districts
Renovate the existing high school
Transfer remaining grades — kindergarten through eighth now at two elementary schools — to the high school building.
“My overall theme is consolidation,” he said Thursday. “Instead of keeping three buildings, we consolidate into one.”
Hellmann unveiled his plan to much outcry from diehard community members who remained planted in their chairs past midnight.
Hellmann stressed that the idea was just a plan, and that it was up to the entire board to make a decision.
“I know some people don’t like the idea but tough choices have to be made,” he said Thursday. “These are my thoughts. I’m not telling everyone what to do. These are my recommendations.”
The former school board wanted to create a new $30 million consolidated school for the district’s approximately 1,000 students, a plan that would have raised taxes for several years. However, the current board nixed the idea on the promise to keep taxes low. It elected to return most of the remaining bond money the previous board had obtained for its merged schools plan.
Hellmann said his plan would use $7 million from capital reserve funds to renovate the high school.
“I want to center renovations on the high school. But it’s a very solid building. That building will be there after I’m gone. I cannot see knocking that down,” he said.
The new school board has been trying to figure out how to accomplish school renovations since the beginning of the year. There is no fixed plan in place, but the board accepted an engineering firm’s proposal Wednesday to provide bid specifications for electrical safety issues at the high school.
There are 273 students who attend ninth through 12th grade in the high school building this year. That’s not counting those who attend services outside the high school building.
Hellmann did not explain how sending students to other districts would work, adding he’s not sure how to implement all parts of his plan at the moment.
“Our No. 1 problem is teacher contracts. No. 2 is special education costs,” he said.
Teacher contracts are binding and can’t be altered without union approval.
“The only way is to bargain with them, but we’re not at that point yet. The problem is, the prior board approved contracts in February 2007. It was a very expensive contract. Prior board members didn’t anticipate the cost over the next several years. That’s the biggest problem,” Hellmann said.
An average teacher salary in Morrisville is about $70,000, according to the state Department of Education.
Next year’s budget calls for about $10 million in employee salaries and benefits.
Hellmann said rising special education costs are a problem, too, but the state mandates that districts pay for any necessary services. Hellmann didn’t describe his plan to reduce next year’s cost increase by about 30 percent. He said the board would stay within legal territory.
“This board is not going to do anything illegally. That’s guaranteed. That’s why we have a solicitor.”
The department of education said it would not comment on any district’s situation unless the board approves such changes.
On May 21, the board voted to consider a $19.7 million budget that’s about $250,000 short of the budget the administration recommended.
The lower budget would reduce necessary funds for incoming special education students, as well as money for students expected to attend charter and alternative schools.
Based on the number of students anticipated and their educational needs, the district is looking at a $2.1 million bill for special education services next year. The administration doesn’t have a choice in how much to pay for special education, said Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Since December we’ve been looking at ways to cut costs without infringing on the needs of our children,” Yonson said Thursday.
Hellmann’s proposed cuts to the increase in special education expenses are about 30 percent. It would have been 40 percent, but the price for administrative services is lower than earlier thought, Yonson said.
Still, Kimberly Myers, supervisor of pupil personnel services, said she doesn’t see how the reduced budget could cover projected needs for special education requirements.
Hellmann thinks there’s a way to do it.
“My goal from the beginning was to provide an education for children that the town can afford. I’m trying to be reasonable. That’s it,” he said.
According to Yonson and Myers, the only way might be to reduce other expenditures.
“At this point, we’re hoping to convince the board not to do this. We are giving them a barebones budget,” Yonson said.
For all of his deficiencies as a human being in general (supreme arrogance being the most glaring) the Emperor is not stupid. He can do this. Yes, I take back what I said yesterday after having some time to think about it. He has three solid puppet accomplices who would vote for anything as long as Hellmann wished it: Al Radosti, Marlys Mihok, and Brenda Worob. (Did you notice that is now the "leadership" on the board?) That's a 4-4 tie vote at best. The the fifth vote comes over the dead body of committed schools champion Ed Frankenfield. A reliable new toady will be appointed and the fait is truly accompli. Forget about (no direct disrespect to any of these four people, but it's the truth) the unsteady waffling of Bill Farrell and Gloria Heater. They are as irrelevant as Joe Kemp and Robin Reithmeyer, and if they happen to support the plan, that's just another vote in favor.
The teachers union negotiations will ultimately result in concessions of one sort or another that will begin to pave the road. Financing will appear. So will the buses to Pennsbury, Bristol, Council Rock, or even DVHS at the deep, deep discount Joe Kemp mentioned earlier.
It's only money. That's the only thing driving this latter day Scrooge-like board. There's no happy ending for Tiny Tim here. His special ed is being cut too. Paging the three ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future: Your table is ready. The Emperor is already seated.
The Emperor's vision for Morrisville was conceived during his long, long period of isolation as a rusting Tin Man longing for a heart. The difference here is that instead of journeying to see the Wizard and obtaining that heart, (or remixing my metaphors, being visited by the ghosts), he realized that rusting away in the field was his highest ambition, and he wants Oz-like Morrisville to rust right alongside him.
Give the Emperor his kudos. He's played his hand well and the public has played their role to perfection: They stayed home and did nothing. It's just about too late and we're watching the end of MHS. We're gathered at the bedside of the dying patient and we're waiting for five votes to pull the plug.
Beep....beep......beep..........beep.........................beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
MORRISVILLE SCHOOLS
Board president presents school consolidation plan
By MANASEE WAGH
The three public schools in the Morrisville School District could shrink to just one in the future.
School board President William Hellmann announced a three-pronged plan of how he would do that at Wednesday’s board meeting:
Grades nine through 12 would be absorbed by other districts
Renovate the existing high school
Transfer remaining grades — kindergarten through eighth now at two elementary schools — to the high school building.
“My overall theme is consolidation,” he said Thursday. “Instead of keeping three buildings, we consolidate into one.”
Hellmann unveiled his plan to much outcry from diehard community members who remained planted in their chairs past midnight.
Hellmann stressed that the idea was just a plan, and that it was up to the entire board to make a decision.
“I know some people don’t like the idea but tough choices have to be made,” he said Thursday. “These are my thoughts. I’m not telling everyone what to do. These are my recommendations.”
The former school board wanted to create a new $30 million consolidated school for the district’s approximately 1,000 students, a plan that would have raised taxes for several years. However, the current board nixed the idea on the promise to keep taxes low. It elected to return most of the remaining bond money the previous board had obtained for its merged schools plan.
Hellmann said his plan would use $7 million from capital reserve funds to renovate the high school.
“I want to center renovations on the high school. But it’s a very solid building. That building will be there after I’m gone. I cannot see knocking that down,” he said.
The new school board has been trying to figure out how to accomplish school renovations since the beginning of the year. There is no fixed plan in place, but the board accepted an engineering firm’s proposal Wednesday to provide bid specifications for electrical safety issues at the high school.
There are 273 students who attend ninth through 12th grade in the high school building this year. That’s not counting those who attend services outside the high school building.
Hellmann did not explain how sending students to other districts would work, adding he’s not sure how to implement all parts of his plan at the moment.
“Our No. 1 problem is teacher contracts. No. 2 is special education costs,” he said.
Teacher contracts are binding and can’t be altered without union approval.
“The only way is to bargain with them, but we’re not at that point yet. The problem is, the prior board approved contracts in February 2007. It was a very expensive contract. Prior board members didn’t anticipate the cost over the next several years. That’s the biggest problem,” Hellmann said.
An average teacher salary in Morrisville is about $70,000, according to the state Department of Education.
Next year’s budget calls for about $10 million in employee salaries and benefits.
Hellmann said rising special education costs are a problem, too, but the state mandates that districts pay for any necessary services. Hellmann didn’t describe his plan to reduce next year’s cost increase by about 30 percent. He said the board would stay within legal territory.
“This board is not going to do anything illegally. That’s guaranteed. That’s why we have a solicitor.”
The department of education said it would not comment on any district’s situation unless the board approves such changes.
On May 21, the board voted to consider a $19.7 million budget that’s about $250,000 short of the budget the administration recommended.
The lower budget would reduce necessary funds for incoming special education students, as well as money for students expected to attend charter and alternative schools.
Based on the number of students anticipated and their educational needs, the district is looking at a $2.1 million bill for special education services next year. The administration doesn’t have a choice in how much to pay for special education, said Superintendent Elizabeth Yonson at Wednesday’s meeting.
“Since December we’ve been looking at ways to cut costs without infringing on the needs of our children,” Yonson said Thursday.
Hellmann’s proposed cuts to the increase in special education expenses are about 30 percent. It would have been 40 percent, but the price for administrative services is lower than earlier thought, Yonson said.
Still, Kimberly Myers, supervisor of pupil personnel services, said she doesn’t see how the reduced budget could cover projected needs for special education requirements.
Hellmann thinks there’s a way to do it.
“My goal from the beginning was to provide an education for children that the town can afford. I’m trying to be reasonable. That’s it,” he said.
According to Yonson and Myers, the only way might be to reduce other expenditures.
“At this point, we’re hoping to convince the board not to do this. We are giving them a barebones budget,” Yonson said.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
District Restructuring?
Looks like it was a good meeting last night.
It's 12:20 AM Thursday morning and I just came home
from a marathon school board meeting. Among the
protests of whether or not a reduction on the increase
in special education is a cut or not, Bill Hellmann
finally unveiled his death blow to the Morrisville
school system.
Close Reiter and Grandview
Renovate the high school and use to house grades K-8
Tuition out grades 9-12
I really hope everyone who voted for the stop the
school group is happy tonight.
I'm not sure this is a done deal just yet. Seemed like the turnout at the January meeting was overwhelmingly against a tuition plan, and they can't renovate the high school with only seven million in the bank. Besides, there's always the issue of {cue dramatic music} the teachers union and their contract.
The bigger question will be if the people of Morrisville have had enough. Is anyone going to stand up?
It's 12:20 AM Thursday morning and I just came home
from a marathon school board meeting. Among the
protests of whether or not a reduction on the increase
in special education is a cut or not, Bill Hellmann
finally unveiled his death blow to the Morrisville
school system.
Close Reiter and Grandview
Renovate the high school and use to house grades K-8
Tuition out grades 9-12
I really hope everyone who voted for the stop the
school group is happy tonight.
I'm not sure this is a done deal just yet. Seemed like the turnout at the January meeting was overwhelmingly against a tuition plan, and they can't renovate the high school with only seven million in the bank. Besides, there's always the issue of {cue dramatic music} the teachers union and their contract.
The bigger question will be if the people of Morrisville have had enough. Is anyone going to stand up?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
School Board Business Meeting Reminder
Make sure to attend tonight's board meeting to see the Emperor's decrees regarding the budget, special education kids, and what we're going to do with three dying buildings and 950 students.
Morrisville school board: 7:30 p.m., Large Group Instruction Room of the Middle/Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer St. Agenda: Consider resignation of board treasurer and election of new one; consider going ahead with updated strategic plan; Bucks County Technical High School budget; discussion of alternate high school plan for the school district. 215-736-2681
Morrisville school board: 7:30 p.m., Large Group Instruction Room of the Middle/Senior High School, 550 W. Palmer St. Agenda: Consider resignation of board treasurer and election of new one; consider going ahead with updated strategic plan; Bucks County Technical High School budget; discussion of alternate high school plan for the school district. 215-736-2681
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Props to Kate Fratti!
I'd like to welcome our first time visitors courtesy of this mention in the BCCT from Kate Fratti.
Thanks for the mention, Kate. Some days this blog can appear very critical and sarcastic. It's difficult not to be considering how things are going in this little town and some of the material I have to work with. But just like your own column and blog, sometimes there are good days, and sometimes there are bad. It's not easy writing every day. I do appreciate the commenters and contributors here immensely. Their participation keeps me grounded. Most of them are not supporters of the current board, but some are. There's quite a number of emails that I receive, and not all of them get posted. There's a growing number of people who are disgusted with the old board, and equally disgusted with the new board (yes, even people who voted for them!) who want a change for the better.
You bring up a good point about how the rhetoric can cause defensive reactions. This is pretty much the way the American political system works. Two polarizing minorities stir things up and it's up to the undecided central majority to make their decisions. When that silent majority finally does stand up, I would be pleased to lay down my digital quill pen. And in the meantime, if my modest attempt at blogging gets these people out of their living rooms and out to a school board or borough council meeting, then I'm a success.
4.18.2008
Funny but not helpful
Ok, the keepers of a blog called Save the Morrisville School are pretty funny some days. That is if bitter sarcasm is your thing. This week they doctored an aerial view of the home of school board member Brenda Worob with the words “Secret meeting” and arrows pointing to the house.
savethemorrisvilleschool.blogspot.com
This after the Worobs hosted a gathering of school board members — never more than four at a time to avoid a quorum — and insisted no school business was addressed. Hard to believe, says the Save the Morrisville School bloggers. I’m with them on this one.
Still, they are the bunch that got their arses handed to them last election after pressing forward with school plans despite public outcry. We’re witnessing the backlash.
The new board majority not only blocked construction, but looks like it’s making moves to do away with the school system entirely. Again, with a deaf ear to the community who didn’t want a new school, but also didn’t want the 116 year old system to fail on its watch.
So far, efforts to farm students out to other districts has failed. Not only because no other district is interested, but because a teachers contract protects against lay-offs and furloughs for five years.
Some days it appears to me the new board leaders have agreed to just kill the system slowly. No big moves, just constant chipping away at budgets, morale, reputation.
Stealth meetings, secret hirings, requests for personal information about kids that’s going to get them sued. All in the name of cost cutting.
Regular folks seem to have given up. Those still playing the insider baseball — the Save the Schools organizers — keep up a steady string of insults, fun making and delighting in the “gotchas!”
The rhetoric doesn’t leave any room for compromise, just backs everyone into defense mode.
Nothing will change in Morrisville until that does, or until the majority of Morrisville residents stand up and demand, “Enough, already!”
So far, that majority remains silent.
Thanks for the mention, Kate. Some days this blog can appear very critical and sarcastic. It's difficult not to be considering how things are going in this little town and some of the material I have to work with. But just like your own column and blog, sometimes there are good days, and sometimes there are bad. It's not easy writing every day. I do appreciate the commenters and contributors here immensely. Their participation keeps me grounded. Most of them are not supporters of the current board, but some are. There's quite a number of emails that I receive, and not all of them get posted. There's a growing number of people who are disgusted with the old board, and equally disgusted with the new board (yes, even people who voted for them!) who want a change for the better.
You bring up a good point about how the rhetoric can cause defensive reactions. This is pretty much the way the American political system works. Two polarizing minorities stir things up and it's up to the undecided central majority to make their decisions. When that silent majority finally does stand up, I would be pleased to lay down my digital quill pen. And in the meantime, if my modest attempt at blogging gets these people out of their living rooms and out to a school board or borough council meeting, then I'm a success.
4.18.2008
Funny but not helpful
Ok, the keepers of a blog called Save the Morrisville School are pretty funny some days. That is if bitter sarcasm is your thing. This week they doctored an aerial view of the home of school board member Brenda Worob with the words “Secret meeting” and arrows pointing to the house.
savethemorrisvilleschool.blogspot.com
This after the Worobs hosted a gathering of school board members — never more than four at a time to avoid a quorum — and insisted no school business was addressed. Hard to believe, says the Save the Morrisville School bloggers. I’m with them on this one.
Still, they are the bunch that got their arses handed to them last election after pressing forward with school plans despite public outcry. We’re witnessing the backlash.
The new board majority not only blocked construction, but looks like it’s making moves to do away with the school system entirely. Again, with a deaf ear to the community who didn’t want a new school, but also didn’t want the 116 year old system to fail on its watch.
So far, efforts to farm students out to other districts has failed. Not only because no other district is interested, but because a teachers contract protects against lay-offs and furloughs for five years.
Some days it appears to me the new board leaders have agreed to just kill the system slowly. No big moves, just constant chipping away at budgets, morale, reputation.
Stealth meetings, secret hirings, requests for personal information about kids that’s going to get them sued. All in the name of cost cutting.
Regular folks seem to have given up. Those still playing the insider baseball — the Save the Schools organizers — keep up a steady string of insults, fun making and delighting in the “gotchas!”
The rhetoric doesn’t leave any room for compromise, just backs everyone into defense mode.
Nothing will change in Morrisville until that does, or until the majority of Morrisville residents stand up and demand, “Enough, already!”
So far, that majority remains silent.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
BCCT and Emperor Spar
Today's BCCT carries a double shot of goodness today. First is the editorial that blasts the Stop the School "open and transparent" board members for their lack of openess and transparency.
The second is a guest opinion printing the statement that the Emperor read at a recent meeting.
We report, you decide.
Secret society: Unschooled board
Morrisville school board members are pursuing unpublicized agendas at private locations with little regard for the public’s right to know.
Officially, Bill Hellmann and the new majority on the Morrisville school board were given power by the people who voted them into office. Unfortunately, the people have been kept in the dark as the board routinely conducts business not only behind closed doors — but behind private closed doors.
As Courier Times columnist Kate Fratti reported, school board members are beating the state Sunshine Law’s quorum stipulation by meeting tag-team style at private locations. Sunday, it was at board member Brenda Worub’s home. Four of nine board members acknowledged being present at one time. A fifth attended earlier, but left before others arrived.
Questioned about the propriety of the secret meeting, Hellmann dismissed it as an issue: “I’m not sure there is anything to comment on. This is a gathering of friends, some of whom … happen to be on the school board. … We will continue to meet with each other, mindful of the law, whenever we wish.”
We’re not sure what Hellmann means by “mindful of the law,’’ but the tag-team meetings suggest a focus on the letter of the law rather than its spirit. In the process, the requirement that elected officials keep the public informed seems to have been forgotten, if not ignored.
Dedicated to undoing plans to build a new $30 million K-12 school, Hellmann and his supporters on the board have routinely worked behind the scenes since his anti-new school majority took over in January. But beyond stopping construction, the board apparently wants to scrap its high school program altogether — without any public input.
In her Monday column, Fratti reminded us of a string of backroom decisions, beginning with the board secretly contacting other districts about taking Morrisville High School kids on a tuition basis. Also secretly, engineers were asked to review conditions at all three borough schools. Now, the school district solicitor attorney who protested the secret hiring is expected to be replaced at the next board meeting. Hellmann originally directed that resumes for a new attorney be sent to his private office rather than the school district.
Bill Hellmann is a smart man. There’s no doubt about that. He’s a certified public accountant and in the Guest Opinion below, Hellmann confronts some of the criticism he’s faced. But there are matters he doesn’t address, including his recent demand — so far unfulfilled — that administrators reveal the names and addresses of special education students. Hellmann recently has preached the need to control the costs of special education.
The cost of special education is a common complaint among school officials. But Hellmann’s demand for the identities of students and their addresses is, well, frightening.
In our view, this unschooled board needs to learn some respect for the public’s right to know. Meanwhile, we encourage citizens — the parents of students, in particular — to stand up for their rights.
Cost of dissolving school bond debt pales next to savings
Regarding the recent Courier Times editorial, “Costly lessons,” as it pertains to the Morrisville School District. The article stated that the K-12 building project should have gone to a referendum. I agree with this statement and spoke several times at public meetings, imploring the prior board majority to do just that. They ignored me and many other people on this issue.
There was overwhelming opposition to this project and bond issue and it was emphatically proved at the polls in May 2007 and again in November 2007. I strongly disagree that our school buildings, at least the high school, are in awful condition. The high school needs some renovation and upgrades only. The school district is in the process of doing an evaluation of the school buildings.
I do not believe that we can build a quality K-12 school for $30 million. The Philadelphia Archdiocese plans to build two new high schools in our area, at a size not much larger than our planned school building but at a cost of $65 million each. I believe I was elected, in part, to help the school district provide a quality education for our children at a cost the community can afford.
The following is an explanation of dissolving the debt and how much was saved:
That the school district had to put up more than $24.4 million to dissolve $22 million proves how expensive the original bond issue was. But we also received an extra $1.67 million in bond premium with the original issue. There is no free lunch; this had to be paid back. This present board did not issue this expensive debt. The prior board majority issued this expensive debt. This bond issue has a 10-year call, which means we have to pay interest to the bondholders for 10 years whether we like it or not.
This is a long time and expensive. The prior majority board was told many times by this town not to issue this expensive debt. In fact, there was a citizen lawsuit to try to stop this expensive debt issue. We have no control over current interest rates. I, for one, am not going to play the interest rate game with public funds. If this was my money, maybe I would gamble, but not with public funds. We have to cut our losses and move forward.
Since the new school is not going to be built, IRS regulations require this debt to be dissolved within a certain time period — I believe three years from date of issue. We have to give it back. I believe this community elected the new board members to help the school district bring back fiscal and operational order. Eighty-five percent of the bond proceeds need to be spent within three years of issuance.
This partial dissolution freed up approximately $1.2 million in the current budget of the general fund. These funds can be used for more upgrades, a possible tax reduction for the ’08-’09 budget year or other items the board decides upon. We also plugged a probable $400,000 budget hole in the ’08-’09 budget. We also reduced the millage for the ’08-’09 budget year by approximately 7 mills. We also saved future tax millage by partially defeating this debt. We also probably saved (depending on current interest rates) approximately $460,000 (the difference between what we have to pay bondholders vs. what we would earn ($1.3 million vs. $855,000).
In summary, we saved $12.6 million in future interest costs by dissolving this $22 million in bonded debt. The bond premium money mentioned above in the amount of nearly $1.7 million, plus the nearly $1.2 million sitting in the general fond equals almost $2.9 million. This is more than the $2.4 million that was put up as extra money to dissolve the $22 million bond.
Disclosure of the bond dissolution was first made at a committee meeting back around Dec. 17. Another analysis was included in the board packet in January before the Jan. 30 vote. I am only one board member. We have nine members all together. If there were any questions on the dissolution, I would hope any board members would have asked our financial advisor or our bond attorney prior to or at the Jan. 30 public meeting.
Bill Hellmann
is president of the Morrisville school board and is a certified public accountant.
The second is a guest opinion printing the statement that the Emperor read at a recent meeting.
We report, you decide.
Secret society: Unschooled board
Morrisville school board members are pursuing unpublicized agendas at private locations with little regard for the public’s right to know.
Officially, Bill Hellmann and the new majority on the Morrisville school board were given power by the people who voted them into office. Unfortunately, the people have been kept in the dark as the board routinely conducts business not only behind closed doors — but behind private closed doors.
As Courier Times columnist Kate Fratti reported, school board members are beating the state Sunshine Law’s quorum stipulation by meeting tag-team style at private locations. Sunday, it was at board member Brenda Worub’s home. Four of nine board members acknowledged being present at one time. A fifth attended earlier, but left before others arrived.
Questioned about the propriety of the secret meeting, Hellmann dismissed it as an issue: “I’m not sure there is anything to comment on. This is a gathering of friends, some of whom … happen to be on the school board. … We will continue to meet with each other, mindful of the law, whenever we wish.”
We’re not sure what Hellmann means by “mindful of the law,’’ but the tag-team meetings suggest a focus on the letter of the law rather than its spirit. In the process, the requirement that elected officials keep the public informed seems to have been forgotten, if not ignored.
Dedicated to undoing plans to build a new $30 million K-12 school, Hellmann and his supporters on the board have routinely worked behind the scenes since his anti-new school majority took over in January. But beyond stopping construction, the board apparently wants to scrap its high school program altogether — without any public input.
In her Monday column, Fratti reminded us of a string of backroom decisions, beginning with the board secretly contacting other districts about taking Morrisville High School kids on a tuition basis. Also secretly, engineers were asked to review conditions at all three borough schools. Now, the school district solicitor attorney who protested the secret hiring is expected to be replaced at the next board meeting. Hellmann originally directed that resumes for a new attorney be sent to his private office rather than the school district.
Bill Hellmann is a smart man. There’s no doubt about that. He’s a certified public accountant and in the Guest Opinion below, Hellmann confronts some of the criticism he’s faced. But there are matters he doesn’t address, including his recent demand — so far unfulfilled — that administrators reveal the names and addresses of special education students. Hellmann recently has preached the need to control the costs of special education.
The cost of special education is a common complaint among school officials. But Hellmann’s demand for the identities of students and their addresses is, well, frightening.
In our view, this unschooled board needs to learn some respect for the public’s right to know. Meanwhile, we encourage citizens — the parents of students, in particular — to stand up for their rights.
Cost of dissolving school bond debt pales next to savings
Regarding the recent Courier Times editorial, “Costly lessons,” as it pertains to the Morrisville School District. The article stated that the K-12 building project should have gone to a referendum. I agree with this statement and spoke several times at public meetings, imploring the prior board majority to do just that. They ignored me and many other people on this issue.
There was overwhelming opposition to this project and bond issue and it was emphatically proved at the polls in May 2007 and again in November 2007. I strongly disagree that our school buildings, at least the high school, are in awful condition. The high school needs some renovation and upgrades only. The school district is in the process of doing an evaluation of the school buildings.
I do not believe that we can build a quality K-12 school for $30 million. The Philadelphia Archdiocese plans to build two new high schools in our area, at a size not much larger than our planned school building but at a cost of $65 million each. I believe I was elected, in part, to help the school district provide a quality education for our children at a cost the community can afford.
The following is an explanation of dissolving the debt and how much was saved:
That the school district had to put up more than $24.4 million to dissolve $22 million proves how expensive the original bond issue was. But we also received an extra $1.67 million in bond premium with the original issue. There is no free lunch; this had to be paid back. This present board did not issue this expensive debt. The prior board majority issued this expensive debt. This bond issue has a 10-year call, which means we have to pay interest to the bondholders for 10 years whether we like it or not.
This is a long time and expensive. The prior majority board was told many times by this town not to issue this expensive debt. In fact, there was a citizen lawsuit to try to stop this expensive debt issue. We have no control over current interest rates. I, for one, am not going to play the interest rate game with public funds. If this was my money, maybe I would gamble, but not with public funds. We have to cut our losses and move forward.
Since the new school is not going to be built, IRS regulations require this debt to be dissolved within a certain time period — I believe three years from date of issue. We have to give it back. I believe this community elected the new board members to help the school district bring back fiscal and operational order. Eighty-five percent of the bond proceeds need to be spent within three years of issuance.
This partial dissolution freed up approximately $1.2 million in the current budget of the general fund. These funds can be used for more upgrades, a possible tax reduction for the ’08-’09 budget year or other items the board decides upon. We also plugged a probable $400,000 budget hole in the ’08-’09 budget. We also reduced the millage for the ’08-’09 budget year by approximately 7 mills. We also saved future tax millage by partially defeating this debt. We also probably saved (depending on current interest rates) approximately $460,000 (the difference between what we have to pay bondholders vs. what we would earn ($1.3 million vs. $855,000).
In summary, we saved $12.6 million in future interest costs by dissolving this $22 million in bonded debt. The bond premium money mentioned above in the amount of nearly $1.7 million, plus the nearly $1.2 million sitting in the general fond equals almost $2.9 million. This is more than the $2.4 million that was put up as extra money to dissolve the $22 million bond.
Disclosure of the bond dissolution was first made at a committee meeting back around Dec. 17. Another analysis was included in the board packet in January before the Jan. 30 vote. I am only one board member. We have nine members all together. If there were any questions on the dissolution, I would hope any board members would have asked our financial advisor or our bond attorney prior to or at the Jan. 30 public meeting.
Bill Hellmann
is president of the Morrisville school board and is a certified public accountant.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Keeping the public at bay in Morrisville
Kate Fratti has a column in the BCCT today looking at the SHHHHHH...*secret meeting* from last Sunday.
So here's another documented time when these yokels refuse to follow standard public meeting procedure and hide away from the public here in Morrisville.
They hid the Hellmann Report (although the Emperor did that more on his own, his accomplices backed him up. Accomplices are held equally accountable in the eyes of the law.); they hid the farming scheme; they hid any discussions or contacts with Delaware Valley High School. Now they're hiding their opposition to the special education kids. Maybe they want to farm them out too? Who knows? The Emperor never wants to tell us what silly stuff he's thinking about.
Our rights to free and open deliberations by our governmental representatives are being violated. Speak up and tell them you will not allow this to continue! *THEM* means all of this immoral majority. Despite the obvious imperial performance by William Hellmann, CPA, he cannot do this without accomplices: "Angry" Al Radosti, Marlys "Minutes take Months" Mihok, Brenda "Two for One" Worob, Bill "Honest Talker" Farrell, and Gloria "Do What Bill Says" Heater.
Look below and see about the emails going to Hellmann's private email address. This is another example of this board's skirting of laws and not leaving a public record. In the U.S. government, the checks and balances are there, and a House of Representatives Government Oversight committee is functioning. In this situation, YOU, the public, is the oversight.
If you don't speak up now, don't complain when they ignore you too.
Keeping the public at bay in Morrisville
I was muttering about open meeting laws again last week after getting off the phone with a caller who alleged Morrisville’s majority school board members were set to meet secretly on a recent Sunday.
He gave me the time, the address, and a tip about the agenda — a sexual harassment complaint by one worker against another.
Just what this little district needs: more controversy.
The board majority elected to block high school construction appears to want to do away with the high school program entirely. Without public deliberation, the majority contacted other schools about taking Morrisville kids on a tuition basis. Next, a Philadelphia outfit offered to privatize the high school. No public discussion about that either, so there’s no way to know where the offer stands.
Also without public debate, the board contracted with engineers for a cursory review of conditions in all three district schools. This, instead of the more thorough review and renovation action plan the board unanimously voted on in December.
We learn this month that the solicitor who protested the secret hiring and insisted on a public vote after the fact to “clean this up,” is expected to be replaced as early as the next school board meeting. Originally, school board President Bill Hellmann asked that all resumes for the job be sent to his private certified public accounting office instead of the school administration building.
And recently, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed interest in Morrisville schools. Why?
Here’s a clue.
Saying special ed costs must be controlled, Hellmann acknowledged he asked for the names and addresses of all special educations students, along with the services they receive and the individual cost for each child. Hellman said he’d settle for knowing whether each child lives in a house or an apartment if he can’t have names and addresses.
That kind of stuff will perk up the ACLU’s ears.
A week ago Sunday, I drove by the address my caller gave me — the home of school board member Brenda Worob and husband Stephen, a borough councilman.
The house was gaily decorated with patriotic buntings. An American flag was flapping at the front door. Surely the caller was mistaken.
But, I’ll be darned. I wrote down the makes of several cars to match them with board members later.
But I needn’t have been so Brenda Starr.
Hellmann conceded to Sunday’s gathering as soon as I asked him about it. No sleuthing needed.
“I’m not sure what there is to comment on,” he said, since there was never a quorum Sunday.
“This was a gathering of friends, some of whom — never more than four school board members — happen to be on the school board. … We will continue to meet with each other, mindful of the law, whenever we wish.”
Although five school board members were at the Worob home Sunday afternoon — Worob, Hellmann, Marlys Mihok, Bill Farrell and Al Radosti (who left before some others arrived) — we are asked to believe no specific school business was discussed.
That harassment complaint? There was one. It was brought to the full board’s attention at a legal executive session after the agenda meeting.
“The way I see it, we have to do just three things,” Hellmann told me after that executive session. “We have to provide students with an education, to do it in a way that is affordable, and to follow the law.”
Patriotic buntings aside, I think he refers to the letter of the law, not necessarily the spirit.
Kate Fratti, whose column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, suspects that once this board concedes to deliberate all matters in public, they’ll do it in pig Latin.
Editor: Carl LaVO, 215-949-4227 clavo@phillyBurbs.com
So here's another documented time when these yokels refuse to follow standard public meeting procedure and hide away from the public here in Morrisville.
They hid the Hellmann Report (although the Emperor did that more on his own, his accomplices backed him up. Accomplices are held equally accountable in the eyes of the law.); they hid the farming scheme; they hid any discussions or contacts with Delaware Valley High School. Now they're hiding their opposition to the special education kids. Maybe they want to farm them out too? Who knows? The Emperor never wants to tell us what silly stuff he's thinking about.
Our rights to free and open deliberations by our governmental representatives are being violated. Speak up and tell them you will not allow this to continue! *THEM* means all of this immoral majority. Despite the obvious imperial performance by William Hellmann, CPA, he cannot do this without accomplices: "Angry" Al Radosti, Marlys "Minutes take Months" Mihok, Brenda "Two for One" Worob, Bill "Honest Talker" Farrell, and Gloria "Do What Bill Says" Heater.
Look below and see about the emails going to Hellmann's private email address. This is another example of this board's skirting of laws and not leaving a public record. In the U.S. government, the checks and balances are there, and a House of Representatives Government Oversight committee is functioning. In this situation, YOU, the public, is the oversight.
If you don't speak up now, don't complain when they ignore you too.
Keeping the public at bay in Morrisville
I was muttering about open meeting laws again last week after getting off the phone with a caller who alleged Morrisville’s majority school board members were set to meet secretly on a recent Sunday.
He gave me the time, the address, and a tip about the agenda — a sexual harassment complaint by one worker against another.
Just what this little district needs: more controversy.
The board majority elected to block high school construction appears to want to do away with the high school program entirely. Without public deliberation, the majority contacted other schools about taking Morrisville kids on a tuition basis. Next, a Philadelphia outfit offered to privatize the high school. No public discussion about that either, so there’s no way to know where the offer stands.
Also without public debate, the board contracted with engineers for a cursory review of conditions in all three district schools. This, instead of the more thorough review and renovation action plan the board unanimously voted on in December.
We learn this month that the solicitor who protested the secret hiring and insisted on a public vote after the fact to “clean this up,” is expected to be replaced as early as the next school board meeting. Originally, school board President Bill Hellmann asked that all resumes for the job be sent to his private certified public accounting office instead of the school administration building.
And recently, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed interest in Morrisville schools. Why?
Here’s a clue.
Saying special ed costs must be controlled, Hellmann acknowledged he asked for the names and addresses of all special educations students, along with the services they receive and the individual cost for each child. Hellman said he’d settle for knowing whether each child lives in a house or an apartment if he can’t have names and addresses.
That kind of stuff will perk up the ACLU’s ears.
A week ago Sunday, I drove by the address my caller gave me — the home of school board member Brenda Worob and husband Stephen, a borough councilman.
The house was gaily decorated with patriotic buntings. An American flag was flapping at the front door. Surely the caller was mistaken.
But, I’ll be darned. I wrote down the makes of several cars to match them with board members later.
But I needn’t have been so Brenda Starr.
Hellmann conceded to Sunday’s gathering as soon as I asked him about it. No sleuthing needed.
“I’m not sure what there is to comment on,” he said, since there was never a quorum Sunday.
“This was a gathering of friends, some of whom — never more than four school board members — happen to be on the school board. … We will continue to meet with each other, mindful of the law, whenever we wish.”
Although five school board members were at the Worob home Sunday afternoon — Worob, Hellmann, Marlys Mihok, Bill Farrell and Al Radosti (who left before some others arrived) — we are asked to believe no specific school business was discussed.
That harassment complaint? There was one. It was brought to the full board’s attention at a legal executive session after the agenda meeting.
“The way I see it, we have to do just three things,” Hellmann told me after that executive session. “We have to provide students with an education, to do it in a way that is affordable, and to follow the law.”
Patriotic buntings aside, I think he refers to the letter of the law, not necessarily the spirit.
Kate Fratti, whose column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, suspects that once this board concedes to deliberate all matters in public, they’ll do it in pig Latin.
Editor: Carl LaVO, 215-949-4227 clavo@phillyBurbs.com
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Now What?
You talkin' to me?
Yeah. I'm talkin' to you.
If you're angry, irritated, infuriated, exasperated, aggravated, upset, wound up, bothered, maddened, frustrated, displeased, provoked, riled, incensed, cheesed off, put out, hacked off, narked, ticked off, dissatisfied, discontented, disaffected, displeased; fretful, complaining, querulous, pettish, testy, petulant, cranky; chafed, annoyed, piqued, vexed, aggravated, amplified, angry, anxious, augmented, beset, bothered, browned-off, bugged, burnt-up, chafed, deliberately provoked, distressed, disturbed, embarrassed, embittered, enhanced, enlarged, exacerbated, exasperated, galled, griped, harassed, heated up, heightened, hotted up, huffy, inconvenienced, increased, intensified, irked, irritated, magnified, miffed, nettled, peeved, perturbed, piqued, plagued, provoked, put-out, put to it, puzzled, resentful, riled, roiled, ruffled, sore beset, soured, troubled, vexed, worried, worse, worsened, or something else in that general mood, then you're exactly the one I want to talk to.
The problem is that I need you to take action. Are you ready? Thanks to jon for providing this comprehensive list of the Hellmann Administration's successes so far:
1. Hire a note-taker for Marlys;
2. Pay back this year's portion of the $2.4 million bond defeasement costs;
3. Pay this year's costs to switch banks to satisfy Bill Hellmann's vendetta against the original bond broker, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
4. Pay for the $2,500 flimsy unauthorized study Hellmann unilaterally commissioned on the Middle-High School;
5. Pay for $8,000 in similar flimsy studies Hellmann wants to do on the elementary schools, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
6. Pay for the ~$200,000 in repairs to the Middle-High School mentioned in the flimsy unauthorized $2,500 study above that Hellmann claimed were safety-related but Dr. Yonson, Reba Dunford, the District's maintenance guy, and about 15 other engineering firms indicated are not - again, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
7. Pay again to fix the doors at MR Reiter that were not fixed properly on the cheap in another unilateral move by Hellmann and will now have to be re-done, at a greater cost than the original estimate.
I know there's more. But isn't this enough?
The parents WILL be shut out of the decision process unless you take action now.
Tell the board you are disgusted with their antics so far. You can do it by email or by telling them face to face at one of the opportunities listed below:
**Parent Advisory, Tuesday March 11, 6:00 P.M. in the MHS LGI
**Infrastructure and Finance Committee Meetings, Wednesday March 12 at 6:30 and 7:00 P.M. MHS G-Hall conference room.
**Board of Ed Agenda Meeting, Wednesday March 12, 7:30 P.M. MHS LGI
**Education and Human Resources Committee Meetings, Wednesday March 26 at 6:30 and 7:00 P.M. MHS G-Hall conference room.
**Board of Ed Business Meeting, Wednesday March 26, 7:30 P.M. in the MHS LGI
Your silence or inaction gives them the courage to continue their disregard for the parents as an integral part of the education process. Don't let that happen.
Yeah. I'm talkin' to you.
If you're angry, irritated, infuriated, exasperated, aggravated, upset, wound up, bothered, maddened, frustrated, displeased, provoked, riled, incensed, cheesed off, put out, hacked off, narked, ticked off, dissatisfied, discontented, disaffected, displeased; fretful, complaining, querulous, pettish, testy, petulant, cranky; chafed, annoyed, piqued, vexed, aggravated, amplified, angry, anxious, augmented, beset, bothered, browned-off, bugged, burnt-up, chafed, deliberately provoked, distressed, disturbed, embarrassed, embittered, enhanced, enlarged, exacerbated, exasperated, galled, griped, harassed, heated up, heightened, hotted up, huffy, inconvenienced, increased, intensified, irked, irritated, magnified, miffed, nettled, peeved, perturbed, piqued, plagued, provoked, put-out, put to it, puzzled, resentful, riled, roiled, ruffled, sore beset, soured, troubled, vexed, worried, worse, worsened, or something else in that general mood, then you're exactly the one I want to talk to.
The problem is that I need you to take action. Are you ready? Thanks to jon for providing this comprehensive list of the Hellmann Administration's successes so far:
1. Hire a note-taker for Marlys;
2. Pay back this year's portion of the $2.4 million bond defeasement costs;
3. Pay this year's costs to switch banks to satisfy Bill Hellmann's vendetta against the original bond broker, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
4. Pay for the $2,500 flimsy unauthorized study Hellmann unilaterally commissioned on the Middle-High School;
5. Pay for $8,000 in similar flimsy studies Hellmann wants to do on the elementary schools, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
6. Pay for the ~$200,000 in repairs to the Middle-High School mentioned in the flimsy unauthorized $2,500 study above that Hellmann claimed were safety-related but Dr. Yonson, Reba Dunford, the District's maintenance guy, and about 15 other engineering firms indicated are not - again, if he succeeds at next month's meeting in passing the vote, provided his buddies Marlys, Al, & Gloria are there this time to bail him out);
7. Pay again to fix the doors at MR Reiter that were not fixed properly on the cheap in another unilateral move by Hellmann and will now have to be re-done, at a greater cost than the original estimate.
I know there's more. But isn't this enough?
The parents WILL be shut out of the decision process unless you take action now.
Tell the board you are disgusted with their antics so far. You can do it by email or by telling them face to face at one of the opportunities listed below:
**Parent Advisory, Tuesday March 11, 6:00 P.M. in the MHS LGI
**Infrastructure and Finance Committee Meetings, Wednesday March 12 at 6:30 and 7:00 P.M. MHS G-Hall conference room.
**Board of Ed Agenda Meeting, Wednesday March 12, 7:30 P.M. MHS LGI
**Education and Human Resources Committee Meetings, Wednesday March 26 at 6:30 and 7:00 P.M. MHS G-Hall conference room.
**Board of Ed Business Meeting, Wednesday March 26, 7:30 P.M. in the MHS LGI
Your silence or inaction gives them the courage to continue their disregard for the parents as an integral part of the education process. Don't let that happen.
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